Where the Heart Belongs
by PlanetGeek
Summary: Karen Rose is a normal girl who has a tough time with life. And it gets even worse when she's hired by Seto Kaiba. Once she gets to Japan, she has these unusual and familiar memories of herself in ancient Egyptian times. Not to mention some confused feelings for a certain CEO.
1. Business Proposition

I don't own any of the original Yu-Gi-Oh characters

Business Proposition

"Uh, Ms. Rose?" Molly asks as she peeks through the door. I glance up at my secretary before going back to signing documents.

"Yeah, Molly?"

"Uh, there's a Mr. Kaiba on the phone for you," she says hesitantly, waiting for my reaction. I look back up at her in confusion and surprise and put my pen down.

"Mr. Kaiba? The Seto Kaiba?"

She nods and I lean back in my chair.

"What does he want?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. He only said that he wanted to speak to the CEO of Pure Technology. He says that it's very important."

I gaze down at the blinking phone, debating whether or not I should answer it. Seto Kaiba wants to talk to me, does he? That's surprising. I normally don't get calls from famous guys like him. He may be the legendary CEO of KaibaCorps who created Battle City and is one of the greatest duelist in the world, but he's also known to be a prick. He's an arrogant man who cares about nothing but his place at the top of society and himself. So why is he calling me specifically?

"Should I tell him you're busy?" Molly asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I shift my eyes back to her and sigh. I guess, as a responsible business owner, I should see what he wants.

"Thanks Molly, but I think I'll take it," I say as I lean forward to pick up the phone. She nods and closes the door right as I lift the phone to my ear and push the blinking button.

"This is Karen Rose, CEO of Pure Technology, how may I help you?" I ask in a pleasant voice, hoping to dear god he does the same courtesy.

"This is Seto Kaiba calling from KaibaCorps. I have a business proposition for you," a deep, blunt voice states. My eyes widen in surprise. Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that!

"A business proposition huh? Do tell." I ask in a neutral tone, wondering what in the world he could possibly want from me.

"Your company is known for restoring machines and electronics, is it not?"

I lean back in my chair and answer, "Yes, that is correct."

"It turns out that my dueling disks are not functioning right."

"Really?" I ask incredulously. "And why are you calling me when there's other technological companies in Japan? You know, since I'm in America right now?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, Ms. Rose. I know exactly what continent you're on. I've already tried the other companies, and they failed to find anything. Now, enough with the 20 questions. Will you accept the job or not?" he huffs in annoyance, as if he hates wasting his breath for this. Ha! Like I don't have anything better to do with my time?!

I then eye my rather-empty desk. Well, maybe I don't have anything to do with my time now…

"Alright, I'll take it. I'll send one of my best employees down to-"

"Did I say I was looking to employ one of your people?" Kaiba interrupts me.

I scrunch up my face in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"I said I had a proposition for you, not some amateur of yours."

I scoff, "Please, Mr. Kaiba, I'm no idiot either, thus I also don't hire idiots. Plus, I can't go to Japan; I have a business to run. "

"That's not my problem. There's a flight out to Japan tomorrow morning. After you land, Roland will be there at the airport to pick you up. Don't keep me waiting."

"Mr. Kaiba, I told you, I can't go to Japan. I have-" The phone suddenly flatlines. "Hello? Hello?!" That son of a bitch hung up on me! Great, now I have to go to Japan!

* * *

"Japan?! Well, what are you going down there for?!" mom yells over the phone, making me wince.

I sigh and lay on my bed. "Well, a certain man called me earlier this afternoon, and he wants me to come to Domino City and fix his dueling disk."

Mom's silent for a minute.

Then, "This man you speak of, isn't he that CEO of Battle City or something?"

"Yeah. Seto Kaiba."

"Oh my. I heard that he's not a very nice young man." she says disapprovingly.

I chuckle softly. "You heard right."

"So. Who's going to take over the business while you're gone?" she asks, moving onto the next issue.

"Molly is," I answer. "She knows just as much about this company as I do. Hell, that's why I hired her to be my secretary, so she can back me up on things that I forget about."

"Well...can you trust her to keep everything in place? I mean what if something happens?" Mom asks in a worried tone.

With a roll of my eyes, I smile, "Ah, typical mom. You worry too much, you know that?"

"Well I have the right to worry about you. You're 17 and I'm your mother! Mothers have the right to worry about their own children!"

"I know, I know," I then sit up and say reassuringly, "and you're doing a great job. Dad would've been really proud to see you still standing on your feet." I smile sadly, still not used to that pang in my heart.

"No, no sweetheart. Your father would've been proud of you. You've taken the knowledge that he's given you and kept his business going! I could never be able to do that. I never even understood his passion for mechanics! No one does except you, our little baby girl." she says, sniffling.

I roll my eyes and fall back on my bed.

"Ohh mom. You're not gonna go down memory lane and talk about me being your tiny, cute angel, are you?" I groan.

She sniffles again, "Oh no, honey. I don't wanna waste your time while you're getting ready to go to Japan in the morning. I'm not that cruel."

Phew! I appreciate her loving me like crazy, but it's way too much motherly love for me to handle right now!

"Well..." I sigh, patting my bed with my free hand. "I better get going now. I gotta get up at three in the morning to catch my flight. This guy is going to kill me. I just know it." I groan.

She chuckles, "Well, just don't let him push you around, okay?"

"Don't worry, Mom. If I didn't have your bravery and dad's strength, I'd be like an abandoned ragdoll in the streets."

We both chuckle.

"Ah, well, good night honey. Call me when you can. Sleep well," she says warmly, making it easy for me to picture that comforting smile of hers.

"G'night, Mom. I'll call you as soon as I get there."

"I love you very much sweetheart."

"I love you too, Mom. Bye."

"Bye-bye."

I hang up and sprawl out on the bed, laying there for a few minutes. I exhale a big breath, blowing my side bangs out of my face. Well, I better start packing. Lord knows how long I'll be there! I sit up and get off the bed. I dig under my bed and get out my large suitcase. It takes me about an hour to pack everything I need for this business trip, taking what energy I had left for the day.

I crawl under my covers and set my alarm clock to three o'clock in the morning, shutting off my lamp afterwards. In the dark's embrace, I lay myself on my right side and sigh. 'It's gonna be a long day tomorrow,' I think to myself before my eyelids drop shut.

* * *

My alarm clock beeps repeatedly. I groan and slam my hand on the snooze button. 3:00am. 3 in the goddamned morning. Why the hell am I doing this again? Right: money and opportunity. With a sigh, I jerk the covers off. I walk to my closet and grab my outfit for today: a dark blue business jacket, skirt, and flats, along with a white button-up blouse. It takes me forty minutes to get ready and get out the door.

After navigating through the harried crowd in the airport, I manage to find my flight and board the plane. With a weary sigh, I plop down in my seat in first-class.

"Good morning passengers, this is your captain speaking. Right now we have clear skies, perfect for flying. So just sit back and enjoy the flight to Japan" a male voice says over the speakers.

I push my seat back and close my eyes. I'm soo tired. I think I'll sleep for a few hours.

* * *

I wake up a few hours later, needing to go to the bathroom. Groggily rubbing my eyes and standing, I walk through regular class to get to the bathrooms.

On my way back, I hear a crying baby. I look up a few seats ahead of me and see a mother rocking her baby gently, trying to soothe the infant.

"Shh. Shh." the mother shushes her baby softly.

She rocks her baby again, and a moment unburies itself from my memory.

~(Flashback)~

My mom is panting harshly, having just given birth to a baby.

"It's a girl!" A male nurse calls.

"A girl? A girl, oh thank you! Let me see her please." Mom requests breathlessly.

The male nurse looks down at the infant and looks back up with concern.

(End of flashback)

I abruptly pull myself from the memory and rebury it. I refuse to live that again.

I go back to my seat. Feeling now restless, I dig through my brief case and take out some documents. I look over them, making sure I know everything about my new living arrangement: the hotel I'll be staying at, the route to KaibaCorps, and my new high school.

People always give me astounded looks when they learn I'm running a business and am still in high school. I could have easily tested out of it and graduated long ago, but I wanted to take my time growing up. Well, my mom was forcing me to take my time at first, but after seeing all the responsibilities awaiting me once I'm free to completely dedicate myself to my company, I quickly agreed with growing up slowly. After all, you only live once!

It's another 10 hours before we finally arrive in Japan. Good thing too, because I'm tired of sitting. I pack up my things and get off of the plane. I walk through the crowd of people, aiming for the doors that lead to the entrance of the airport. Once outside, I gape at all the crowded buildings, people, and vehicles. Eventually, my gaze lands on a black limo. Standing beside it is a man in a black suit with blue green hair, a thin mustache, and black sunglasses. His hands are behind his back, like he's waiting for someone. Is this Roland? Only one way to find out.

I walk up to him and ask, "Mr. Roland?"

"Madam Rose, I presume?"

I nod once and he steps aside as he opens the car door for me. I get in the limo and he shuts the door. He puts my luggage in the trunk and walks around the limo. He then slides in through the other door on the vehichle, and when he shuts his door, the limo starts to drive off.

"Are we going to meet with Mr. Kaiba?" I ask, trying to break the silence.

"Yes."

A cell phone suddenly rings, and Roland takes out a black flip phone with an antenna on it from his coat. He opens it up and puts it to his ear.

"Yes sir. We're on our way right now." he says.

'I'm guessing that's Kaiba,' I think to myself as Roland nods.

"Yes sir. I'll make note of that."

He then hangs up and puts his phone in his jacket. The limo suddenly slows down and stops. We're now at this very tall – surely it must be near 100 stories! – building with a large KC logo on its wall. Mr. Roland and I get out of the limo and enter the building. We walk past several, bustling employees and go into an elevator. Mr. Roland pushes the top floor button – 105th floor! - and the door closes.

"Now before you meet Mr. Kaiba, you are to be civilized and prudent. There will be no sarcasm, no back talk, and there will certainly be no threats towards him. Otherwise, he will have you thrown out of this building in a second. Is that clear to you, Ms. Rose?" he asks. Sheesh, Mr. Kaiba is apparently quite the guy.

"Is that clear Ms. Rose?" Mr. Roland repeats more firmly. I put on a smile and nod lightly.

"Yes sir. Clear as day."

He nods once. "Good."

The elevator door opens and we walk out to see a blond woman sitting behind a desk.

"Inform Mr. Kaiba about Ms. Rose's arrival." he orders her.

With a nod, she picks up her phone. "Mr. Kaiba, she's here." Another nod. "Yes sir." She then hangs up and smiles pleasantly at me. "You may go in."

I nod hesitantly to her and take a deep breath. I walk to the doors and grab the right knob. Here we go. I turn it and open the right door. I'm greeted with the sight of a very large, rather plain-looking office. The whole left wall is covered by giant shelves filled with books, the back wall is one giant pane of glass, and sitting before the glass wall is a big, dark mahogany desk with a computer and stacks of paper on it.

Standing there, behind the desk with his back to me, is Seto Kaiba. I couldn't help but observe him carefully. He has brown chestnut hair, white skin, and what appears to be a well-built body. He's wearing a tan suit and from what I can see from his blurry reflection in the glass, has a white shirt on with a light blue tie. His hands are behind his back as he stares through his glass wall.

"Mr. Kaiba?" I ask.

He slowly turns around, and the first thought that hits me is, 'damn.' Of course the bastard had to be drop-dead gorgeous! And his eyes! I'll be damned if they aren't the most genuine sapphire blue that I've ever seen! Even if said eyes are trying to puncture a hole through me.

Luckily, I'm good at hiding admiration for the other gender, and I open my mouth to formally introduce myself when suddenly… he changes. His pale skin darkens to a bronze, and his clothes changes drastically. He now sports a blue, white, and gold colored outfit, it almost looking like a dress were it not for the fact of how completely unfeminine he looks in it, especially with his billowing white cape. Gold bangles decorate his dark arms and a tall blue hat sits atop of his head.

Stunned, I blink and slightly shake my head. When I refocus on him, he's back to normal. What the hell was that about?! Maybe the flight took a bigger toll on me than I thought…

"You're not at all what I expected." he says suddenly, snapping me out of paranoid thoughts.

"I'm sorry?"

"I expected you to be older, perhaps in your late twenties or thirties."

"Oh pfft! Please, I'm only a couple of months away from becoming 18, so don't be fooled by my young features." I pat my soft cheek.

His arches an unimpressed eyebrow, his lips forming a narrow, straight line. I awkwardly clear my throat.

"I understand that I'm here to repair your disk?"

"Is that all you understand?" he sneers.

I bristle, about to reprimand his attitude, when he bends down and retrieves a silver brief case from under his desk. He sets it down facing me and opens it, revealing a dueling disk. I walk up towards the desk and take a closer look at the contraption. Kaiba takes it out and attaches it on his left forearm. He walks around his desk towards me, and he extends his arm. A small card tray pops out in front of him with a deck of cards already inside it. It honestly made my nerves jump when it ejected from the main disk.

"It opens up just fine but when a card is activated, its short circuits and the disk ends up malfunctioning." he says.

It closes back up and he sets it on the desk. I pick it up and observe it.

"I don't know what's happening to it and I don't have the time to find out why. All I want you to do is find what's causing it to break down and fix it before the tournaments start. Once you have it figured out, I'll have my employees repair the rest." he says, taking a seat behind his desk.

I look at him then back at the disk.

"How many of these disks are acting like this?"

"Thousands. The new supplies I got a couple of months ago are the ones that malfunction." he answers.

I put the dueling disk back in its case and close it. "Don't worry, Mr. Kaiba. I'll try to figure out the problem as soon as I can." I say.

He starts shuffling through some of the papers on his desk. "Whatever. You have five weeks."

Sounds suitable. Let's just hope that Molly can handle the company that long. I take the case off the table and grab my other case.

"Yes sir." I say.

"Roland will escort you out of the building."

"No need. I'll escort myself out." I reply.

"This is a huge building, Ms. Rose. You could easily get lost. Roland will escort you out." he once again arches a brow at me.

I put my cases down and cross my arms.

"Mr. Kaiba, I can assure you that I can find my own way out. I've found my way through giant malls and buildings since I was six years old. I'm not saying this to impress you, I just think I can find my way out from here by myself."

He observes me for a few moments before turning back to his papers.

"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you get lost."

I scowl. "I won't. Thank you very much."

I walk away towards the door. What an ass.

"Oh, and you might want to watch your tongue with me before I cut it off and feed it to some dogs." he says nonchalantly, the scribbling of his pen still to be heard. I stop and take a deep breath, clenching my teeth. I then hurry out of his office before I can say or do anything violent to him. I walk past Roland. He follows.

"How did it go?" he asks.

"Your boss is a swell guy. He and I will get along just fine." I answer through gritted teeth, not pausing my march to the elevator.

"Shall I escort you out?" he asks.

I stop at the elevator and push the down button. The doors open and I walk in.

"No need. Mr. Kaiba has allowed me to find my own way out. But thanks anyway. I'll call you guys if I find anything." I say.

The doors fully close between us and the elevator starts to go down. I lean against the wall and sigh. Well, that was rather unpleasant and unusual. Not only am I going crazy, but I now have to deal with Seto Kaiba, the biggest asshole in the world! Life hates me big time.


	2. Exploring Japan

_**Hey everyone! I may have forgotten to add this but my name is PlanetGeek and I'm a new member of FanFiction! This is my first story I have ever written and FINISHED! I hope you enjoy this chapter and see what you think!**_

 _ **Also, thanks to those who already favorited and followed!**_

 _ **I do not own any of the original Yu-Gi-Oh characters**_

 _ **Exploring Japan**_

"He said that to you? How dare he! Why didn't you stand up for yourself? That's not a very nice thing to say to someone! Especially to a young lady!" Mom rants.

"First of all, Mom, I wanted to punch him in the face, but I couldn't. He would've had me thrown out of his building and fired me. He's a very powerful man."

"I know he is, but you still can't let him speak to you like that! I mean, he could do anything and get away with it! Even murder," she whispers the last bit in terror. I can easily imagine her wide eyes, pleading me to come home if we were face to face.

"Uh, Mom, I think you're exaggerating a bit. Seto Kaiba may be a powerful man, but he can't get away with everything. His father might of when he was in charge, but that was back then and I don't think Kaiba will take exactly after him, not after what he went through," I say with a cringe.

I've heard about Kaiba's foster father, Gozaburo Kaiba. Being the previous owner of KaibaCorps, Gozaburo was one of the most powerful and well-respected men in Japan, but he wasn't by any means a nice man or a good father. He had nothing but pure hatred and maliciousness in his heart, and young Kaiba was left at the mercy of that stone heart. Knowing Kaiba had to grow up with that kind of influence, I cannot help but to be more lenient towards the young man – if he were anyone else, I would've kicked his ass by now; it doesn't mean I approve of his current attitude, though.

"Perhaps you are right. Still, I want you to promise me that you'll be careful and keep an eye on him," Mom demands, leaving no room for arguments.

I roll my eyes in exasperation. "I promise I'll be careful."

"Good. Now, I'm off to bed," she chirps happily, her serious tone long forgotten. Ah, how I love my mom.

"Alright, Mom. Sleep tight." I smile fondly. If I'm being completely honest, I could use one of her hugs right now. Of course, I won't tell her, otherwise she really will come down here just to give me one!

"Goodnight sweetie," she coos and hangs up.

With a sigh, I put down my phone and go back to dissecting the duel disk. I've been at this for two days now, and I still haven't found anything! Everything is in the right order and place. What could possibly be wrong with this? What would cause the wires to burn out as soon as a card is activated?

I sigh in defeat and rub my temples, slightly easing the small headache that's forming.

"Come on, Karen. Dad taught you everything that you need to know about repairing machines and electronics. You should know what this is!" I murmur to myself.

I then lean back in my chair and sigh again. Maybe I should take a break for a while. I do have five weeks to fulfill Kaiba's request, after all. Although, the sooner I find out the problem, the better chance I have at going home early. Agh, I don't want to stress myself even more by working on this all day. Hell, I just might have another hallucination! Maybe I'll see Kaiba will be in a toga this time…

I immediately stop my thoughts before they could go down the path of how much more skin would be revealed in that outfit. Oh hell, I definitely need a break! I should go out and explore the city. Yeah, that sound like a good plan. No togas required.

I get dressed in my regular clothes: a sky-blue camisole, light skinny blue jeans, and a pair of black combat boots. Throwing some money in my back pocket, I leave my hotel room and make my way out to the outside. After struggling with the crowd of people, I eventually manage to figure out how to navigate through the sea of people and start sightseeing.

After visiting some museums, I become fascinated with Japan's history and its culture. It's refreshing to see how different this country is from America. It's too bad that practically everyone here is focusing on dueling now. What's so good about it anyway? It's just playing cards and seeing who wins or loses. It's not like dueling can save the world or something.

I stop in front of a small card store called, Kame Game. Eh, why not? I might as well see what the fuss is all about. Maybe I'll even discover the issue with the disks. I snort with that thought. Very unlikely.

I walk inside the building and spot a short old man with wild gray hair and a gray beard at the counter, sweeping the floors. He looks up as the bell on the door rings.

"Huh?" Have I seen this man before? He looks awfully familiar, but then again, I'm not too good at remembering faces.

"Welcome, young lady! What can I do for you today?" he beams at me as he sets his broom aside, snapping me out of my thoughts. I take a quick look around, finally noticing the number of cards surrounding me.

"Oh, nothing sir. I'm just looking." I say still looking around. Just how many cards can this game use?!

"Well, what kind of cards are ya looking for?" he inquires, walking over to me.

"I'm not looking for any cards. I'm just...merely curious about dueling."

His purple eyes light up. Now I'm very sure I've met him before! But, when?

"Ah! So you're thinking about becoming a duelist, eh? Well, you're in for quite an adventure young lady! Dueling has been around since ancient Egyptian times! You learn a lot about this stuff when ya start dueling." he explains enthusiastically.

Dueling has been around since ancient Egyptian times?! Damn, here I was thinking it was some sort of new trend!

"Uh, no, I'm not interested in becoming a duelist or anything. I'm just not so sure about it. I mean, what's the whole point of this game?"

The old man eyes me in surprise. "Game? My dear, dueling is no game. Dueling is a way of life! You get to experience thrilling adventures through the heart of the cards themselves, to see and feel its power and emotions! How is it that you don't know about this?" he asks me with a baffled look.

"Well," I place my hands on my hips and shuffle my right foot, a nervous habit I really need to break! "I'm actually from America, and-"

"Oh! You're an American? My apologies, young lady, I didn't know." He interrupts, looking apologetically at me.

"It's alright," I smile, relieved dueling isn't a huge deal in America too. I'm not always 'with the times' as some people say…

Just then, the door jingles and a young, spirited voice greets, "Hey Grandpa!"

"Hey Gramps!" another, lower but also enthusiastic, voice greets.

I look over my shoulder and see two boys, probably my age, walk over to where the old man and I stand. One boy is shorter and has big amethyst eyes with yellow spiky hair that is tinted red and black – he is obviously the grandson if the wild hairstyle is any indication. The other one is a skinny and taller boy with dirty blonde hair. They're both wearing the same type of school uniforms: blue shirts with collars around their necks and blue pants.

"Hello Yugi! Hello Joey Wheeler! How was school today?" the older man asks the two boys.

"Great! I got a hundred percent on my history test!" his grandson smiles happily.

"That's wonderful, Yugi! And what about you, Joey? What did you get on your test?" he asks the taller boy.

Joey crosses his arms and grumbles, "I got a sixty-five percent."

"Sixty five percent?! I thought you studied last night!" the old man asks in bewilderment.

"C'mon Gramps, you know I'm not da studyin' and rememberin' type of guy!" he says while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Yugi shakes his head at his friend and then finally notices me.

"Oh! Sorry, Grandpa! We didn't know you had a customer."

"Whoa!" Joey exclaims once he spots me. He gives his hands a quick lick and runs it through his hair. "Hiya Sweets! My name's Joey Wheeler. What's yours?" he leans on the counter with a 'charming' smile.

I raise an eyebrow at him and cross my arms while Yugi and his grandpa roll their eyes.

"Karen. Karen Rose. And don't call me Sweets."

"Joey, Miss Rose here is an American woman. There's no need to flirt with her," Yugi's grandpa lightly scolds.

"Yeah, and aren't you already with Mai?" Yugi gives Joey a disapproving look.

Joey straightens up. "Well, yeah, but she flirts with other men all da time. Can't I have a little fun too?" he shrugs.

"Not if you wanted your ass handed to you," Yugi arches a brow at Joey.

"Yugi! Language, young man!" his grandpa reprimands.

"Sorry, Grandpa," Yugi bows his head shamefully.

"Uh, I think I should get going now," I awkwardly say, feeling like I'm now intruding. "Thank you, sir, for your help." I say to Yugi's grandpa.

"Well hang on a second there, Missy," the old man stops me. He walks back behind the counter and disappears behind it when he bends down. He stands back up and in his hands are five cards: monster cards. "Take these. No charge." he says with a kind smile and gestures for me to take them.

"Oh no, no," I say with my hands raised. "Thank you, but I-I can't possibly-"

"Take them," he interrupts as he walks around the counter and puts them in my hand. "You're going to need them while you're here. Plus, you can have them as souvenirs!"

I look down at the cards: Mystical Elf, Sonic Maid 3, Beautiful Headhuntress, and Gemini Elf. I slowly put them in my back pocket.

"Thank you. I'm sure that they'll come in handy sometime."

"Oh, they will. They always do." he says ominously, walking with me to the door. "Now you have yourself a good day, Miss Rose, and remember, dueling is not just a game. You should give it a try."

"Maybe sometime. Again, thank you for your help, Mr…?"

He takes my hand and shakes it. "Muto. Solomon Muto. But you can call me Grandpa if you want."

Huh. The name doesn't ring a bell, so I must be mistaking him for someone else.

"Okay. Thank you, Grandpa Muto. I hope to see you again. Your grandson too." I smile, purposefully leaving out Yugi's taller friend.

"You are more than welcome to come by and visit any time, and don't you worry about Joey, Miss Rose," the older gentleman smiles in exasperation, noticing my exclusion of Joey. "Joey's a good boy. I'm sure that he'll behave properly the next time you see him. Have a good day!" he waves and I walk away.

I'm glad that's over with. The boy and his grandpa are really nice, though. Perhaps I will drop by again in the future.

I continue to explore the rest of the city. The last place I visit is an arcade. I feel like playing a game of some kind. I go in and walk around. All of these games that I am seeing so far are nothing but driving and fighting games, however. I don't play these types of games.

"Yeah! Go, Téa! Dance him away!" I suddenly hear someone whoop.

I turn around and see a crowd of people surrounding two people dancing. A blonde man is versing a young slender girl with short chocolate brown hair and blue eyes. She's dancing away effortlessly. Even from where I am, it's easy to see how experienced and graceful she is. She has some real talent there! I go over there to watch. The girl does a long spin for the finale, and the guy tries to do the same thing but he falls. The girl bows as everyone cheers and applauds for her. I smile and clap as well, impressed. She shakes hands with the guy and gestures beside her.

"Would anyone else like to verse me?" she asks with a bright smile.

After a few beats of silence, I speak up. "I will."

"Alright, let's see what you got." she says with a competitive gleam in her eyes, gesturing to the game space besides her. I put my hair up in a ponytail and hop up on the platform. I take my stance on the gaming floor, taking note of the arrows and the circle in the middle of them.

"Good luck." the girl, Téa, says.

"You too," I nod.

The screen in front of us counts down from five to zero, playing upbeat music. When the screen with the arrows come scrolling down, we begin to move our feet to match the arrows. It's been awhile since I last danced, so I'm not doing so well. The girl is killing me, but then I start to get the hang of it, the rhythm finally familiarizing itself with me. My moves change from stiff and late to flowing and in time.

"Oh wow!"

"Look at them go!"

"They're both amazing!"

'Huh, not bad for not dancing in a few years!' I think to myself with a grin. I've always loved dancing, but with high school and running a business, I just haven't had the time for it. I haven't realized just how much I've missed it.

At the end, I twirl around and do a backwards flip. Téa does the same thing, but she adds a split at the end. I smile as our audience cheers like crazy when we finish our dance-off. We both raise our fists up in the air and bow down. We straighten up and shake hands.

"Nice moves you got there," I pant, winded from busting out moves like that.

"Thanks. You were amazing yourself!" she smiles, hardly out of breath. I'm not a bad dancer, but this girl is obviously leagues above me. I can't even bring myself to be petty and be bitter about her win; she very well deserves each victory she gets.

"In fact, you were so good, we'll just have to ask the audience who won!" Téa turns to the audience and asks, a loud cheer being her answer both when she gestures to me and then to herself.

"Well," she says, turning back towards me. "I guess it's a tie!" I think about arguing, telling her that she's obviously the better one, but with her friendliness and the gushing crowd, I decide to leave it be.

"Well, it was fun dancing with you, Téa was it?"

"Yes, Téa Gardner. And what's your name?" she asks.

"Karen Rose."

"Nice to meet you, Karen. I hope we'll meet again and do another dance-off!" she winks.

"Me too, Téa. Bye!" I wave as I walk away.

"Bye!" she waves back.

I walk through the admiring crowd back towards the entrance. I'm almost there when a little boy with gray-blue eyes and long spiky black hair suddenly bumps into me.

"Whoops! S'cuse me, ma'am," he automatically apologizes, but then his eyes widen once he actually looks at me. "Hey! You're that girl who just went up against Téa Gardner! Nice job on the moves there. You nearly beat her!" he excitedly exclaims.

"Ah, thank you. I appreciate it," I smile down at him. I then notice that there seems to be no one else with him. "Are you alone?"

He shakes his head, "Nope, I'm actually here with my big brother." He points his thumb behind him. I follow where he points, but I still can't see anyone who looks to be his brother.

"Uh...I don't see-"

"Mokuba!" a familiar voice suddenly calls.

The boy turns around and I look up to where the voice came from. I gasp when I see Seto Kaiba walking towards us. Instead of wearing a business suit, he now wears black clothing with a stylized white trench coat with a KC imprinted on the collar. He stops in front of the young boy.

"Oh, hey big brother!" the boy, Mokuba, says cheerfully.

I quickly turn my back to them so Kaiba won't recognize me, and I slowly walk away, hoping not to attract attention to myself. The last time I saw the guy, I wanted to punch him. If I have a chance to escape his notice, I damn well will take that chance!

"Mokuba, what did I tell you about wandering off like that? You know that you're supposed to stay where I can keep my eye on you!" he scolds the little boy.

"Sorry, Seto. I was just talking to a girl who almost beat Téa Gardner." Mokuba apologizes, and I feel like he's gesturing to me. Come on Karen, time to go! Walk quicker, walk quick-

"Hey, Miss! Where ya going?" the boy calls and quickly catches up, grabbing my wrist. Goddammit! I was so close!

"Come on! Come meet my big brother!" Mokuba drags me back over to where Kaiba stands, my shoulders hunched and 'damn it, damn it, damn it' repeating over and over in my head.

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba." I force a smile on my face once I'm dragged back over to the man.

"Rose." he nods coolly.

The boy looks back at me. "Hold on, you two already know each other?" he gestures between us.

"Yes, Mokuba. This is Karen Rose, the technician who's repairing the dueling disks. Which I take is going well." The words should form a question, but the way he says it, it's more of a threatening statement instead.

I resist the strong urge to roll my eyes. "It's going. I have yet to find the problem," I answer truthfully.

"Is that so?" he crosses his arms and arches an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm just taking the evening off. I've been working on it for two days straight." I say defensively.

"Yeesh! You work a lot." Mokuba winces, looking at me in sympathy.

"No, she doesn't, Mokuba. I work every day at KaibaCorps. Two days are nothing," Kaiba glares pointedly at me.

Oh hell no. He just didn't! "May I remind you, Mr. Kaiba, that I too run a successful business? That I too work just as hard to keep it successful?" Ohhh, I'm getting pissed off again! I need to calm down before I decide to punch him in the face this time. I take a deep breath and plaster a smile on my face.

"But no one's perfect. This isn't a contest." I say sweetly, imagining the satisfying sound of a crunch as my fist collides with his nose.

Mokuba scoffs and points his thumb to Kaiba, "It is with my big brother. Everything to him is a contest."

"So I see." I smile at Mokuba, ignoring the new glare Kaiba is throwing at me. I then check my watch. 7:30 pm.

"Well, I better get going now. It's getting pretty late. It was nice meeting you Mokuba and it was... nice to see you again Mr. Kaiba," I force myself to say. Whether or not it's believable, I don't care. I'm just proud I managed to get that lie out! With that, I turn around to walk away.

"Hey, do you want a ride home?" Mokuba asks.

I stop and immediately turn around. Oh no. No, no, no, no-

"No, she doesn't Mokuba. If she was able to get here, she can find her way back. She's been doing it ever since she was six years old, right, Rose?" Kaiba asks with a mocking smirk, recalling our conversation two days ago.

I ignore the infuriating man and smile at the little boy, "I can find my way back. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Karen! It's dark out, so it's not safe to be out alone!" He then grabs my hand and pulls me past Kaiba and out of the arcade. "Come on, Seto!" he calls over his shoulder, still keeping an iron grip on my wrist.

"Uh, M-Mokuba, really! I'm fine! My place isn't that far! I can even call a cab!" I try to argue as the little boy drags me out of the building. Man is this kid strong!

Mokuba leads me over to a black limo, where the driver opens the door for us.

"Not a chance. Now, climb on in!" he pushes me towards the vehicle. Realizing there's no way out of this, I sigh defeatedly and do as the boy says. Mokuba crawls in after me, followed by a scowling Kaiba. Mokuba sits across from me while Kaiba sits next to me on my right.

"Where're you staying at?" Mokuba asks me.

"Hotel Quorum." I answer softly.

He whistles. "Nice hotel." He then narrows his eyes at me. "That's also twenty blocks away from here."

"Oh, is it? I thought it was closer," I say innocently.

"Hmm," is all he says as he watches me for a few more seconds. He then rolls down the glass panel that separates us from the driver. "Isaac, Hotel Quorum please."

The limo pulls into traffic. Awkward silence ensues for a few minutes, but then Mokuba breaks it.

"So, Karen, where're you from?"

I rub the back of neck. "Um, New York."

"America?! Sheesh! You're a long way from home. And you said that you have your own business?" I nod. "What's it called and what do ya do?"

"It's, uh, called Pure Technology. We repair all kinds of electronics and machines and resell them to the people. You see, we don't like to waste them when all they need is a few adjustments here and there."

Mokuba sits crisscross on the leather seat. "Cool! Uh, no offense Karen but why would you create a business like that? That's sort of a…a guy's job," he says hesitantly, worried about offending me.

I give him a small smile of reassurance. "Well, to be honest with you, Mokuba, I didn't create my business." I then look out the window, a face surfacing from my memory. "My father did." I look back to see Mokuba's curious face and even high and mighty Kaiba is looking at me. I crack a smile and explain further.

"His name was Kirk Rose and he was all about machines and the new developments in technology. He couldn't stop talking or thinking about how much everyone wastes perfectly fixable or reusable machines. Eventually decided to do something about it. Day after day he would try to convince bankers and investors to give him money to create his own business, but he wasn't successful at that time. Finally, an investor gave him the money to start it. When he got everything in place, he started to hire people to work for him. My mother, Tessa Marine, was hired to be his assistant. Eventually, they got married and had me. As I was growing up, he taught me the ways of being a technician, and I learned to share his love of technology. I was daddy's little girl and went to work with him every chance I could. " I chuckle.

Then my smile disappears and I sigh sadly, looking back out the window. "He got ill and died from it three years ago. His last words to me were, 'I love you, my dear daughter. The company is yours to do what you will. Stay strong and don't give up.

"After he died, times were extremely tough for us. My mom became an alcoholic, and she went into rehab a year after his death. When I turned sixteen, I emancipated myself. My mom finally got the help that she needed and I took over my father's company. He would've wanted me to be happy with his business. And I am. When I have my own kids, I'll have them take over if they want. But if they choose to follow a different dream, I'll hire someone else to keep it going. It's the least I can do for my father, since he was always there for me."

"I'm sorry about your dad, Karen," I hear Mokuba softly say, snatching me away from the past. I look back at him to see his face full of sorrow. "He sounds like a great guy."

"He was," I smile wearily. "I'm sorry to give you my life story like that. I can't help but to let people know how passionate I am about my father and our dreams."

"No, don't apologize. I would too if I were you," Mokuba smiles reassuringly at me. I glance at Kaiba, to see what his reaction is, but all I see is him looking out at the city, his face blank. Like he isn't even listening. Well, as long as he doesn't insult my father, I could care less if he listened or not. My world doesn't revolve around him.

Right about then, the limo stops at my hotel. Relieved that this is over, I open the door.

"Thanks for giving me a ride, Mokuba."

"It's no problem, Karen. It's the least we can do for you since you're fixing my big brother's disk. Right Seto?" he asks, looking at his big brother.

"I'm paying her, so no, it's not the least we can do." he huffs. "Now let's go home."

I roll my eyes. Figures.

"Goodnight, boys."

After having room service give me some noodles for dinner, I go back to work on the disk. Whatever the problem with it is, it must be a very sensitive, uncommon issue since other technicians have looked at this before me.

I work on it until midnight, with still no progress, before I make myself go to bed. The second my head hits the pillow, I feel the soft pull of sleep. I don't even have the energy to worry about my first day at Domino High School tomorrow. 'A problem for future me,' I think drowsily to myself before sleep claims me.

 ** _Well! There you have it! Please leave a review, follow, and/or favorite! Stay true to yourselves!_**


	3. High School and New Job

_**Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update for a while. I just got out of school and my network was being very slow and stupid! Technology these days;) Anyways, here's the third chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**_

 _ **I don't own any Yugioh characters except my oc, Karen Rose.**_

* * *

High School and New Job

People are screaming and crying as swords clash and collide together. The voices and noises grow louder and louder until I jerk up awake, panting hard. Well, that was a weird and an unsettling nightmare. I hear my alarm blaring to my right.

7:00 am. Ugh. I turn it off and sit up, catching sight of my new school uniform I had the sense to lay out last night: white blouse, pink jacket and skirt, and a big blue bow tie. I cringe, but I put on the overly-girly uniform anyway. It's some comfort knowing I won't be the only female suffered to wear this style, if I dare call it that. Though, it still doesn't stop me from dashing to my car, not wanting my neighbors to witness me in such colors. They'll see me eventually, but not today, dammit!

I manage to find a parking spot near the school's entrance – so far so good – and I head to where I was told the Central Office would be.

"Hi, my name's Karen Rose, and I'm a new student here for the next five weeks," I smile at the receptionist, a friendly-looking older lady.

"Ah yes," she says, adjusting her purple glasses, before she gets up and goes through some files. She pulls out my schedule and hands it to me.

"You have yourself a good first day here sweetie, and please let us know if you need any assistance," she says.

"Thank you," I smile and nod. Then I walk out of the office and look at my schedule.

Science- Rm 307

English- Rm 348

Japanese Writing- Rm 289

History- Rm 163

Study Hall- Rm 237

Physical Exercise/ P.E- High School Gymnasium

Trigonometry- Rm 212

Symphonics Choir- Rm 345

Not a bad schedule. Let's just hope that my day will work out. First period is at 8:15 to 9:03 and it'll be Science. I look at the time. 8:00. I have 15 minutes left to eat breakfast, which is white rice. I get my breakfast and sit at an empty table. I take my chopsticks and fiddle with my rice. God, what I would give to have a fork! Perhaps I'll just carry around my own fork in my purse from now on, then I wouldn't have to deal with missing my mouth four out of five times!

I manage to eat a good portion of my rice – whether or not if I used my hands is irrelevant – before I go to officially start my day.

However, despite being in a different school in a different country on an entirely different continent than my own, the day drags by as uneventful as it would at home. It feels like I've blinked, and already fourth period is over!

I walk into my Study Hall class, chastising myself for not bringing a book, when I stop in surprise. I see the two boys from the card store, the girl that I danced off against, and some other boy with brown hair that I never met before. What were their names again? I believe Yugi, Joey, and Téa? Not long after I spot them, they manage to catch sight of me as well.

"Karen?" I think Yugi asks.

"Yugi, right?" I ask, pointing at him.

He nods. Now I point to the other boy and girl.

"Joey and Téa?"

"Hi, Karen!"

"'Ey, Karen!" They both wave at me, smiles on their faces.

Shrugging to myself, I sit at a desk next to them.

"I'm sorry guys, but who's this?" the other guy asks.

"Oh! Tristan, this is Karen. Karen, this is Tristan. We met Karen just yesterday," Téa explains.

"Oh! Well then, welcome to Domino High School, Karen." he nods with a polite smile.

I nod to him once.

"So, Karen. What's happenin'? I didn't know d'at ya go ta dis school." Joey says.

"I am now. Well, for the next five weeks, that is."

"The next five weeks?! What's the rush?" Yugi asks.

I hesitate. Perhaps I should tell them…

"Uh, yeah. Um... I'm here on official business for Seto Kaiba."

Their eyes widen again.

"Kaiba? D'at good for nothin' rich boy?" Joey scowls.

"I'm so glad to hear those lovely words," I grin, now much more willing to let Joey be a friend.

"If you stick around, you'll hear a lot more. He's a real jerk, especially to us." Téa frowns, crossing her arms.

"There have been a couple times where he wasn't all that bad, but most of the time, he's a really arrogant man." Yugi says.

"Yeah? Well most of da times I'd like ta punch him in da face," Joey says while clenching his fists.

"I know exactly what you mean," I smile sympathetically.

"So, what exactly are you doing for him, Karen?" Téa asks me.

"I've gotta find out what's up with his duel disk. It starts to go haywire when a card is activated," I answer.

They all exchange a look, then look back at me.

"You're da technician?" Joey points to me.

I nod.

"Wow, any luck so far?" Tristan asks.

I shake my head, "No. Everything's in the right place, but there's still something there that's all wrong. I just can't find it."

"Well, whatever it is, I hope that you find it," Yugi says.

"Thanks. I hope so too, otherwise Kaiba won't be too happy." I say.

Téa scoffs, "Please, he's never happy. In fact, I've never seen him smile ever. He's like a robot."

"Speakin' of Rich Boy, here he comes now," Joey growls.

"What?" I ask, my eyes wide open, and I turn around to see Kaiba walk in the classroom. "Shit!" I hiss under my breath. I then turn my head around and cover my face. "I just can't get away from him, can I?"

"Whaddya are ya so afraid of?" Joey asks, mistaking my reaction as fear rather than caution.

"Nothing. He just pisses me off so much, I'm afraid that I'll lose my temper on him and get fired from this job. And I hate being fired from a job that I'm good at," I explain.

"Oh, c'mon Karen. I'm sure he doesn't know that you're here. He doesn't want anything to do with us, so I think you're okay," Téa winks.

Before I can reply, I hear that dreaded, low voice say behind me, "I see you're now with the dweeb squad, Rose."

I sigh and look pointedly at Téa, not even turning around. 'See?'

"'ey, beat it, Rich Boy! We're not in da mood ta deal with your shit," Joey glowers.

"You better keep your stupid mutt on a leash, Yugi." I can just envision that stupid smirk of his too.

Joey instantly stands up, enraged. "Whaddya call me, Money Bags?!" he growls.

Uh-oh. This can't be good. Téa and Tristan stand up and hold him back before anything could happen.

"Joey, calm down!" Téa warns.

"Yeah man, he's not worth it!" Tristan grunts.

"I'll take ya on right here, right now! C'mon, you and me! Let's go!" Joey yells, disregarding his friends.

"Losers like you don't stand a chance against me, Wheeler."

"Kaiba, that's enough!" Yugi demands.

"Tell your dog that. You should take him to obedience school."

Alright, that's it.

"Mr. Kaiba," I stand and finally face him, that mocking smirk of his just like I remembered. "can I talk to you for a minute please?" I ask through clenched teeth.

"Karen, what are you doing?" Téa asks.

"I'm breaking this up," I hiss quietly.

"Back off, Rose. This isn't any of your concern," he glares down at me.

I cross my arms and lean towards him, undeterred by his height. "Now." I then storm out the door and wait out there. Honestly, I expected Kaiba not to listen to me and still go at it with Joey. Shockingly, he follows me. He crosses his arms and waits, while I'm paralyzed with shock. He actually listened to me!

"Cat got your tongue, Rose? I didn't come out here so you can check me out," he sneers.

I shake my head a little and clear my throat. "Look, Mr. Kaiba, I don't know what's your history with them, but I'd appreciate it if you weren't so rotten to them. They're very nice people. In fact, I consider them my friends."

"Friends? Those losers?" he asks while arching an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes in exasperation. "They're not losers! Okay? They're just nice people who want to be friends with me. I know that you can do whatever you want and you don't have to listen to anyone but please! Can you leave them alone for a couple of days or something?" I ask, just wanting to escape this infuriating man.

"What will you do for me if I do?" he asks.

"What?" Wait, he's considering it?

"I don't do favors for free. An eye for an eye."

I sigh and bend my head back. "I'm already repairing your dueling disk, what else would you want me to do?" I look back at him.

"I need an personal assistant until the tournaments arrive."

My eyes widen. "What?"

"The dueling tournaments in Battle City are too much work for me to handle alone, so I need an assistant to help me keep track of everything that needs to be done. You be my assistant for the next five weeks, and I'll leave your... so-called friends alone for as long as possible. You still need to repair my dueling disk, however."

I look down and sigh. The things I do for family and friends. "Deal."

I walk back to the group with my arms crossed. Kaiba doesn't follow me back to them, instead he takes a seat and minds his own business. I take a seat next to Yugi and sigh.

"So, how'd it go?" Tristan asks.

"Yah! Did ya give it ta 'im?" Joey grins expectantly.

I lower my face on my hand. "No. I did something else."

"What? What did you do?" Téa asks curiously.

"I made a deal with him," I say softly.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" she asks.

I don't say anything for a few seconds. "I told him to leave you guys alone for as long as he could and he said that he will but under one condition: I have to be his personal assistant for the next five weeks."

"Ya what?!" Joey asks incredulously.

"Look, I didn't want him to cause you guys any trouble because you're all nice people! So, I accepted his deal."

"Karen, you didn't have to do that. We can take care of ourselves. We don't want you to sacrifice half of your freedom to him!" Téa pleads.

I look up at them. "I'm sure that it'll be fine, Téa. All I have to do is keep track of stuff, remind him what to do, and make calls for him."

"Yeah, but it's Kaiba. Not that much people like Kaiba. Not even you," Tristan points out.

"Tristan, a deal's a deal. Once I give my word, I have to go through with it." I say.

Yugi nods. "We understand, Karen. Thanks for sticking up for us," he gives me a small smile.

"It's no problem. I do what I can." I smile back.

The next few periods go smooth enough. Mostly because I have them with Yugi and the guys, though. The last period I have is Symphonics Choir. Joey is in it and so is his little sister and another friend of Yugi's, Duke Devlin, as Joey's told me.

"Hey, Joey!" a young girl with auburn hair hugs him.

"'ey sis." Joey hugs her back with a smile. Then a guy with long black hair in a ponytail and has domino earrings comes up.

"Hey, what's up, Wheeler?" he slaps him on the back.

"Good, Duke. Ya keepin' your hands off my little sis?" Joey asks jokes, but a dangerous glint forms in his eyes.

"Relax, Wheeler. I've been good."

"Yah? Well ya better keep on bein' good otherwise you'll get what's comin' ta ya."

I clear my throat to break the tension. "Uh Joey, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Oh! Right. Karen, dis is my little sis, Serenity. Serenity, dis is a new friend of ours, Karen," he gestures to me.

Serenity extends her hand and I shake it. "Hi, Karen! It's nice to meet you. A friend of my brother's is always a friend of mine," she smiles warmly.

"Thank you, Serenity. I'm glad to hear that."

"And d'ats Duke Devlin, the guy I mentioned earlier. Duke, Karen," he gestures to me.

"Well hello, hello!" Duke purrs while taking my hand, and he kisses it. "It's nice to see some new beauty around here."

I pull my hand away and roll my eyes. "Flattered." I rub my hand on my skirt.

"Ooh, she's a feisty one." he winks at me.

"Ain't she?" Joey grins.

"Okay class, let's get in order here and warm up," A plump woman with red hair claps her hands.

The whole period we sing songs and go over them again and again. Some of them are quite pretty. Eventually, the final bell rings, signaling the end of the day.

I am not too far from my car when I hear a familiar voice call, "Rose!"

I turn around and see Kaiba walking towards me. Confused, I ask, "Mr. Kaiba? What are you-"

"Stop your chit-chatting, Rose, and let's go," he says as he grabs my arm and drags me after him.

"What are you talking about? Go where?!"

"It's your first day of being my assistant."

"What?! That starts now?" Of course he'd start that now, because why not?!

"Yes, I have to go back to work."

"But what about my car?" My lovely little car can't be neglected like this!

"Don't worry about it."

Kaiba drags me all the way to his black limo. When he lets go of my arm, I rub it. I can't believe that I have to be his assistant today. I sigh and crawl in the limo. When we get in, he tosses me some of my business clothes. I look suspiciously at him.

"How did you get these?"

As he opens a case and goes through his files, he answers, "I had my guards go to your hotel and get the stuff that you needed for today."

My eyes widen. "You raided my room?!"

"I had permission," he shrugs.

"Not from me! Who does that?!"

"Get over it." He tosses a file full of papers beside me. "Here's the list of things that I need to do for the next five weeks. Don't lose it."

I glare at him before looking at the files. Then, my cellphone rings, and I take it out of my pocket to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Karen?"

Oh no. It's Mom!

"Uh, Mom-"

"So, how was your first day at school, Karen? Did you make new friends? Did you meet a cute boy?" she teases.

"I, uh, this isn't the best time for me to talk right now," I say through my teeth.

"What are you talking about? It's past three and you should be at your hotel. So you should have enough time to talk. Unless..." She gasps. "You have a boy over! Do you have a boy over young lady? You two better not be-"

"Mom!" I nearly yell, trying desperately to hide my mortification. I then drop down to a whisper when Kaiba glances up at me. "I'm a bit busy right now. So don't call me until I call you. Okay? Okay. Bye." I quickly hang up and look out the window. That was embarrassing.

"Well, that was a good way to treat your mother." Kaiba nonchalantly says.

I glare at him. "You don't even know what she was going to say or even ask me."

"She was asking if you were with a boy."

I look at him shocked and confused. "How did you-"

"Speaker's on."

I look down at my phone and see that it is indeed on. I gasp and turn it off. How did I not notice that?! My cheeks burn cherry red in embarrassment.

"I don't see what you're so embarrassed about. Her theory was correct." he smirks.

I gape at him. "Excuse me?!"

He scoffs. "Don't act so innocent, Rose. You couldn't take your eyes off of me since we first met."

That stupid smirk is back on his face, meaning he's just messing with me. Regardless, I roll my eyes and groan in disgust. "Ugh, you men." I lean back and start to read and write down Kaiba's events. I notice that some of these things on his to do list has a lot to do with Mokuba.

 **Take Mokuba to lunch.**

 **Pick Mokuba up from school.**

 **Take Mokuba home.**

He certainly cares a lot about what to do with his little brother. Honestly, I think it's nice to see Kaiba care so much about his brother.

"What's first?" Kaiba suddenly asks me.

I look up at him. "Huh?" He gives me a look that reminds me of his to do list. "Oh! Right." I say flipping through the papers.

 **4:30pm-Meeting with Mr. Sen.**

"Says here that you have a meeting with Mr. Sen at 4:30."

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "Wonderful."

"What?" I ask, wondering if I did anything wrong.

"I have to sit there and listen to his stupid and boring speech."

My nerves relax with relief. I'm clear. For now.

"What's after that?" he asks.

I check the list again.

"After that…you need to take Mokuba to the card shop at 6:30."

"And?"

"Get a birthday present for Mokuba at 8:00." I look up at him. "It's Mokuba's birthday today?"

"No that's two weeks away. I like to be prepared," he answers.

Hmm. Maybe I should get him a present too. Just to be nice. The limo then stops at the building, and we get out.

"Get dressed when we go in. I trust that you can find your way to the meeting room?" he smirks.

I glare at him. "I can find anything, Kaiba. Even with my eyes closed." I cross my arms. He scoffs, unconvinced, and walks away.

"Whatever. Just get there before the meeting starts." he says over his shoulder.

I quietly mimic him and his words as I walk in after him. I see a bathroom and get dressed in the stall. I put my hair in a bun and put my regular clothes in my suitcase. I walk out and look around. Now, where is this meeting? This is a tall building. It could be anywhere. What was I thinking? Perhaps the meeting is close to Kaiba's office.

I go to the elevator and push the top floor button. I go up to the top floor and walk through the halls. I check my watch. 4:23?! The meeting starts in seven minutes! I gotta find this room, fast! I stop at a fancy-looking door – which is also not far from Kaiba's office – and I open it. Nothing! This is only a break room with vending machines and tables!

"Having troubles?"

I jump and yelp as soon as I hear Kaiba's voice. I drop my suitcase and turn around quickly. My heart is beating like crazy.

When I register his smirking face, I exhale, "Good God, don't scare me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What is wrong with you?!" I pick up my stuff and push past him. "And no, I'm not having any troubles. I just ended up in the wrong room."

He catches up and walks beside me.

"I know where I'm going now," I lie.

"Do you now? Then by all means, Rose. Lead the way." He gestures ahead of me.

I stop and look at him. He called my bluff.

I glare at him and sigh in frustration, "Okay, fine! I don't know where to go! Happy?!"

He smirks again and walks away. "Now was that so hard to admit?"

I clench my shaking fist and growl. He is really getting on my nerves. I follow him to the room where there's men sitting at a big long table. Kaiba sits at the right end of the table while I sit on a chair towards a corner, feeling eyes following me as I do so.

"I didn't know that you had an assistant, Mr. Kaiba. Where'd you find her?" one guy asks.

"Some place where she was lost and scared," Kaiba answers with a mean grin

Most of them chuckle while I just sigh and cross my arms. I look out the window and watch the darkening city so I won't have to see Kaiba's stupid face. I don't even know why I have to be in this meeting! It's so boring! I have nothing to do other than watch the minutes drag by.

After 97 minutes of endless droning – and I counted – the meeting finally ends. Kaiba and I go to his office.

"Remember, Kaiba, at 6:30 you have to take your brother to the card shop," I remind him.

"You don't have to remind me an hour early, Rose," he says.

I roll my eyes and look through the files. "So, what are you getting Mokuba for his birthday?"

"That's none of your business," he says curtly, getting on his computer.

I look up at him. "I can never have a pleasant conversation with you, can I?"

"There is no such thing as a pleasant conversation," he replies.

I roll my eyes again and go back to looking at the papers. "Of course there isn't," I mutter. This is going to be a long day.

An hour later, Mokuba burst through the doors, "Hey, Seto! I'm ready to go to the card shop!" He runs past me and stops instantly when he sees me.

"Karen! What are you doing here? Did you find out what's up with the disk yet?" he asks excitedly.

"Uh, no, Mokuba. I'm actually here because of…uh." I rub the back of my neck.

"Rose is my new assistant for the next five weeks, Mokuba," Kaiba finishes for me.

"You are?!" Mokuba asks, looking back at me. I sigh and nod. He laughs, "Oho! That's awesome! You get to fix the disk and now you're assisting my big brother!" he cheers.

I look to the side then back at him. "You don't mind that?"

"What?! Of course not! You're cool Karen! You're a technician, you dance like a pro, and you're not like any other bosses that I've met. You're awesome!" he grins.

Well, at least he appreciates me being here.

"Well, thanks, Mokuba. I'm glad to hear that you appreciate me." I look pointedly at Kaiba. "Unlike some people."

Kaiba rolls his eyes and walks to Mokuba. "You ready, Mokuba?"

"Yep! Hey, Karen, you wanna come with us?"

I shake my head, "No Mokuba, I have stay here and print out some paperwork for your brother. Plus, I'm not much of a card person."

He shrugs. "Eh, alright. Suit yourself. Come on, Seto!"

They both walk out of the office, leaving me alone. I sigh in relief when they're out of sight. I look around for a printer so I can print out the paperwork. There's one close to Kaiba's desk. I walk to it and put each paper in it.

I push the print button and the papers start to print out. When that's done, I set them on Kaiba's desk. Jesus! His desk is buried in all these files and papers! When was the last time he got this cleaned or organized?

Speaking of clean and organized, his whole office needs a cleaning. His books on the shelves needs to be dusted and alphabetized, his wilting plants obviously needs to be watered, and his glass windows needs to be wiped. I know that I should leave this to the cleaning people, but I just can't stand to see this type of mess. I have nothing else to do and Kaiba and Mokuba will be back soon. Long enough for me to clean this place up.

I manage to locate a cleaning closet close by and grab the supplies I'll need. I then use his computer to log onto a radio station, and I tackle the mess.

When I'm finally through, the office is in pristine condition. Ha! I bet even the cleaners can't do this good of a job! Tired and dirty, I go over to check on the list and see what's left to do before I can leave.

 **Have the cleaners clean my office.**

Well, like I said, they wouldn't of had done as good of a job. I cross that off the list. When I set the papers down, the doors open up. It's Kaiba and Mokuba.

"Thanks for getting me the Magical Hats card, Seto! Now I can confuse my opponents."

Both of them stop and look around. "What the…?" Kaiba looks around in confusion.

"Wasn't this place a mess when we left?" Mokuba asks.

I smile and open my suitcase, which catches their attention.

"It was a mess when you two left," I place the papers inside, close my suitcase and walk over to them. "but then I decided to clean it up. Just to make it easier for you to get around." I point to the file cabinets. "The files that were on your desk are in the file cabinets all organized, your books are dusted and alphabetized, and...well, pretty much everything here is clean." I chuckle and pat Kaiba on the shoulder, walking past him.

"Have a good night, Mr. Kaiba! And don't forget to do something at 8:00 tonight!" I call in a singsong voice.

"Rose!" Kaiba calls.

I continue to walk to the elevator. As I wait for it to open, Kaiba storms up to me.

"Rose what were you thinking?! You can't just clean my office out of your own free will!"

The elevator doors open and I walk in. I push the bottom floor button.

"Yeah? Well I kinda did. So, 'get over it,'" I say, still smiling.

The doors close between us and the elevator descends. Ah, the satisfaction! It's the same damn thing that he said to me when he had his guards go to my hotel room without my permission.

The elevator doors open, and I walk out to the entrance. As I walk out, I see my blue car at the curb. Huh. He did get it here. Looks like I won't have to walk back to my hotel after all. I walk down the stairs to my car.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Karen, wait up!"

I stop and see Mokuba running towards me.

"Oh, hi Mokuba. Is there something that I can do for you? Or did your brother send you down here to tell me something?" I ask, hoping for the former.

He pants, "No. I just…wanted to...oh man!"

I walk to him and bring him to the stairs. We both sit down.

"Just catch up your breathing," I chuckle.

He takes a few deep breaths in and exhales them.

"Don't mind Seto. He really appreciates you cleaning his office," he finally says.

I scoff. "It didn't sound like he was."

"I know. He just doesn't like to reveal what he's really feeling. Too much pride in him," he shrugs.

I nod and smile a little. "Well I'm glad to hear that." I lean myself on my legs and sigh. "Be sure to tell your brother that I said 'You're welcome.'"

Mokuba looks down. "You hate him, don't you? Be honest with me."

Oh boy. Honest. I lean myself more on my legs and sigh.

"Well, Mokuba, it's kinda hard to say. It's a little bit of yes and no. There are sometimes where he's just a complete jerk, and there are some other times where he's… you know, sweet."

"He's sweet to you?" he asks with eyes wide as saucers.

I laugh. "Ha! No! Not at all. I just think that he is sometimes because of the way he treats you. I mean, you're the only one who gets him to be his friendly self."

"Well that's because I'm his brother. We've been through everything together."

"I know. Family looks out for each other," I smile softly.

We stay silent for a couple of minutes.

"You know, my birthday is in two weeks," he says.

I look at him. I already know, but I think it'll disappoint him if I tell him that I already know.

"Is it now?" I notice a sad look on his face. "What's wrong? Is your birthday that bad to have or something?"

He shakes his head. "No, it's not that."

"Then, what is it? You can tell me," I say comfortingly.

He looks up at me. "I don't think he knows that it's coming up."

I stare at him in bewilderment. "Why would you think that? Of course he knows."

"How do you know? He hasn't asked me what I wanted for my birthday yet. Actually, he hasn't mentioned anything about it at all." he crosses his arms.

I look down and sigh. I place my hand on his shoulder and speak softly like mom would do when I'm depressed.

"Mokuba, your brother is a very busy guy and he may forget about somethings that are important. But he loves you very much and you're the only family he's got left. Your birthday is the day when you came into his life. Now, why would he forget a thing like that?" He stares at me, then looks down. "Take my word for it, Mokuba. Your brother does know about your birthday, and I can tell that he's very happy about it." I smile. I then lean towards him. "How do I know? Because all brothers and sisters are happy when their family is happy. So if you're happy, he's happy too."

Mokuba looks up at me and smiles. He suddenly hugs me. I stiffen in surprise, and then I smile warmly as I hug him back gently.

"Thanks, Karen." he says.

I sigh and pat his back. "Hey, I do what I can."

We pull away and both stand up.

"Now, I don't know if Mr. Kaiba knows that you're out here talking to me, so you better get back inside and let him know that you're safe," I say.

He scoffs. "Please, who's going to mess with me at this hour?"

"Mokuba," I warn, crossing my arms.

"Alright, alright. I'm going," he sighs, making his way back up the stairs.

"Good night, Mokuba!" I call.

"G'night!" he calls back.

I chuckle softly and walk back to my car. I get in, start the engine, and drive off to the hotel. Regardless of having long day, I still have a job to do. Any free time that I have must go towards that blasted disk, long day or not. I wonder if it'll be five weeks before I am able to catch a break…

* * *

 _ **Well! That was something huh? Again sorry it took so long. See you next chapter!**_


	4. The Challenge

**_Alrighty! Here is Ch. 4! I hope you all enjoy it!_**

 ** _I don't own any Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, except my OC, Karen Rose._**

* * *

 **The Challenge**

"So, Karen, how was your first day of being Kaiba's assistant?" Téa asks.

I shrug. "Eh, it was alright. Long and boring, but alright."

"Alright? Ha! Ya look like hell! Ya can barely stay awake!" Joey chuckles. I can't refute that statement when my head is propped on my hand and my eyelids are falling down constantly.

I yawn while rubbing my eyes, "Man, I wonder if this is how Molly feels every day."

"Who's Molly?" Yugi asks.

"My secretary."

Téa stares at me with concern and wonder. "Karen, did you get any sleep last night?"

"A little. I've been working on the disk all night. I went to bed at two in the morning."

"You stayed up that long?! Are you crazy?! Karen that's not good for you. You need to rest," she says.

I stretch my arms out. "Hmm. It's fine Téa. I've done this all the time at work. Hell, I even stayed up for two days straight once."

"Jeez! Ya work like Kaiba. I heard dat man hardly sleeps. Probably why he's sucha jerk" Joey grumbles.

I groan and open my eyes a bit too look at him. "Don't compare me to him. It's bad enough that I have to assist him."

"Karen, the next time you leave work, you need to get some sleep! Don't worry about the disk. You have five weeks to worry about it anyway," Téa says.

"Téa's right, Karen. Don't stress yourself out by working too much. It's not healthy for you," Yugi says.

I groan. I'm too tired to argue with them about this. "Alright. Fine."

The bell rings for the next period. Next is gym. Maybe some exercise will wake me up. I change into the gym uniform: a white t-shirt, blue shorts, and white tennis shoes. I put my hair up in a ponytail and walk to the gym. When I enter the gym, I see a crowd of girls surrounding someone. I don't acknowledge it because it's probably a cute boy that girls like to surround.

"Oh my god, did you see that Seto Kaiba's in this class now?" a girl whispers excitedly to another.

"No freaking way!"

I freeze and my eyes widen. Did I hear them right? Did they just say that Seto Kaiba is in this class now?! I turn around to the group of girls and catch a glimpse of the man's face. My heart skips a beat. Kaiba?! What the hell is he doing here?! I didn't see him in this class yesterday. Maybe he's here for something?

He emerges from the flock of girls and I see his outfit. He's wearing a tight black sleeveless shirt and gray sweatpants, the type of clothes for running or moving around. Nope. He's in this class for sure. I guess he doesn't want to wear the uniform for gym. I sigh and look away. Well, if he's gonna be here, I'm gonna have to get used to it.

I look at him and observe him from head to toe. He may be a douche but I have to admit, he certainly has some nice buff arms and abs. Damn. Wait.

My eyes widen and look away again, blushing red. Why the hell am I staring at him?! I shake my head and slap my forehead. Good God, why?!

Mrs. Starch, our P.E teacher, blows the whistle and tells us to stretch our muscles and do a three minute jog. Everyone separates and spreads out. I go to my own spot and do my warm-up stretches. When I'm warmed up, I start to jog. I look around and see Kaiba running too.

'Strong legs, too. Ah! Stop staring at him!' I scream at myself in my head. This is getting ridiculous. I just need to ignore the arrogant man. There. Problem solved.

And I did just that.

Unfortunately, my luck ran out at the end of gym class. "Fancy seeing you here."

I sigh and turn around to Kaiba. "Why are you in this class? I didn't see you in there yesterday."

He crosses his arms. "Not that it's any of your business, but I need some physical education credit to pass. Now I'm here for the rest of the school year."

I groan and lean against the wall. "Great. Now I have to deal with you in P.E. Quite the five weeks this turned out for me."

He smirks, "What's the matter Rose? You don't enjoy my company anymore?"

When the bell rings, he walks past me. I look and walk after him. "What is that supposed to mean?" I catch up with him.

"Wouldn't you love to know?"

I widen my eyes and scrunch up my face. "Do you think I'm attracted to you or something?" I ask.

He doesn't say anything but his smirk answers me. Now my mouth widens.

"Oh Good God! Are you kidding me right now?!" I yell.

"We both know that it's true," he says.

"No, it is not! What the hell gave you that assumption?!"

"Two things. One: Women can't resist me, so neither can you. Two: I saw you checking me out back there. Don't even deny it," he leers.

He noticed me staring at him?! I blush red and stutter. Is he serious right now?! I literally met the guy three days ago and he thinks that I'm attracted to him. What kind of sick joke is this?! He stops and smirks at me.

"You're blushing Rose."

"I-You-What?! I was only looking at you because I was surprised that you were in my P.E class!" I touch my cheeks. Why the hell am I blushing?!

"Sure you were, Rose," he says unconvinced. "Admit it. You can't help but be enchanted by me."

I growl and push past his arm as I storm away from him

"Your figure is quite appealing as well," he says from behind me. I stop and immediately turn around. He's gone. That bastard was checking me out?! When?! Was it when I was stretching? God, I hope not! I clutch my jacket and pull my skirt down a little. Why do they make skirts like these anyway?! They're short. I run up the stairs towards my next class.

* * *

"He said what?!" Téa exclaims over the phone.

Téa and I are getting pretty close, so we exchanged numbers and kinda gossip back and forth about our day and what happened.

"He said that I checked him out and that I was attracted to him," I say, getting in my car.

She pauses.

"Were you and are you?" she asks suspiciously.

I blush red and my eyes widen. "What?! No! Do you seriously think that I would be attracted to that prick?! We only met three days ago!" I close the car door.

"Oh, Karen, he's just trying to piss you off. It's what he does for a living."

"Well, he's gonna regret messing with me if he doesn't get his shit together. Because I'm not going to let him treat me like garbage anymore." My phone beeps. "Oh, damn it! Téa, I gotta go. I got another call."

"Oh, okay! Talk to you later, Karen!" she says.

I take the phone off my ear and press the answer button for the other call.

"Hello?"

"Are you still working?" Mom asks.

Uh-oh. I'm in trouble now.

"Oh, Mom! Look, I'm really sorry I came down on you so hard but you literally called me at the wrong time. I was with him," I say through my teeth.

"Him? Seto Kaiba?" she asks.

"Yeah, and my speaker was on, so he pretty much heard everything that you were saying."

She stays silent for a while. Then, "Oh, I am so sorry honey! I didn't know!"

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to tell you."

"Wait a minute. You mean you were with him after school?!" she exclaims.

"No!" I yell. "God no! Stop jumping to conclusions!" I sigh and shake my head. "I'm his personal assistant now."

"A personal assistant?! I thought that you were fixing his stuff down there."

"I am but..." I then see KaibaCorps up ahead. "Oh! Uh mom, I gotta go now. I'm at work."

"Call me as soon as you're done young lady. You've got some serious explaining to do." She hangs up before I could even say goodbye. Good ol' mom. I park my car and walk in KaibaCorps. I walk to the elevator and go all the way up to Kaiba's office.

"Good evening, Miss Rose," the secretary, Charlene, greets me once I step out of the elevator.

"Good evening, Charlene. Mr. Kaiba busy in there?" I ask cautiously.

"No, you can go in." she says.

I nod and go into the office.

"Listen here, Shenin! If I say that you need to send down the documents, then you better send the goddamn documents down now! I don't want any excuses!" Kaiba yells. I jump when he slams the phone down. Oookay! Someone's having a rough day at work. I close the door, catching his attention. I put up my hands and walk to a table.

"Easy. It's just me, your personal assistant," I say. He rolls his eyes and sits down. I set my suitcase down on the table and open it, while stealing a few glances at his frustrated face. "Are you alright?"

"I'd appreciate it if you would shut up for one minute," he hisses.

"Jeez! Annoyed much?" I ask rolling my eyes. I take out his schedule for today and read through it.

 **4:45-Inspect the card industry**

I better give him some time to cool down before I tell him his next errand. I cross my arms and walk to the bookshelf. I run a finger down the end of one to check for any dust. None so far. I look at him.

"Is it safe to talk now?" I ask. His sigh tells me 'Yes.' I walk back to the table and grab the schedule. "Good! Because at 4:45, you got an inspection at the card industry."

He growls and leans back in his chair. "I swear to God that if this headache doesn't go away soon, I'm going to go fucking insane." He leans on his desk, holding his head in pain. I put the papers down, staring at him curiously.

"Is it that bad?" I ask.

He glares at me. "Are my pained expressions not enough for you to see that?!" he snaps.

"Jesus! Are you always this pissy on a hard day?! You're like a pregnant woman with some serious mood swings buddy!"

He rolls his eyes and closes them as he holds his head again. He winces softly and growls lowly. He may be a jerk, but I can't help but feel a little sorry for him. Headaches like he's having are nothing but a real pain in the ass. It's like you're head's being drilled. I sigh and put my papers down. I roll up my sleeves and walk over to him.

"Alright, clearly your headache is killing you and making you more of an ass than usual. That's why I need you to relax," I say getting behind him.

As soon as I place my hands on his head he smacks them away.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he hisses.

I put my hands on my hips and sigh. "Do you want this headache gone or not?!"

"It'll go away on its own. So don't touch me!" He tries standing up but I'm not having it. I push him back down in the chair.

"First of all, it won't go away for a while, and second, I'm not going to be dealing with you and your moody attitude the whole freaking day." I place my hands on his shoulders. "I'm trying to help you get this weight off your shoulders. You look like you really need it."

He growls as I begin to massage his tense shoulders.

"Stop it. Just relax," I coax. He sighs and his muscles eventually relax. "There you go."

I begin to rub his shoulder blades slowly. I then move from his shoulders towards his neck. He exhales slowly and leans back into his chair more. Now I move up to his head, rubbing my fingertips on the side of his head slowly. He closes his eyes and sighs. When I'm done, I release his head and pat his arm.

"There you go. All better?" I ask.

He opens his eyes like he was in a trance and looks at me.

"How did you do that?"

I dust off my hands and walk back to my suitcase.

"Oh, uh, I took a few classes on massaging. Most of my employees usually have a hard day at work too, and to be nice, I give them free massages and they're right as rain. They say I have a gift with my hands."

He rubs the back of his neck and shoulder.

"I can see why," he says.

I smile proudly and look back down at my suitcase. I bet that he has those type of headaches all the time. He really needs to take care of himself. I look at Kaiba and can't help but see Dad in there. I'm not saying that he's like my dad, no way in hell; Kaiba's health is similar to Dad's before he died. A small pain hits my heart when I thought about him again. That always happens when I do. I look away and sigh sadly.

"Look Kaiba." I close my suitcase and look at him. "I know that you have to be strong for your company, and I get that! Really, I do." I then cross my arms. "But that doesn't mean you have to... you know, work overtime. I mean, I've been noticing that you've been looking pale and tired lately. Are you... getting enough sleep and food to eat?"

He scoffs, "What are you my doctor? I'm fine."

"I... I don't think you are Kaiba. I mean-"

"Stop thinking. I didn't hire you to tell me what to do. I'm fine." he growls.

I put my hands up. "Alright, fine! I'll drop it!"

"And you're the one to talk. Yes, I heard your conversation with the dweebs."

I slam my suitcase shut and whip around. "They're not dweebs!" I nearly yell. "God, why do you have to be such a jerk to them? What did they ever do to you?"

Realizing that I'm asking him something that won't have a good answer to it, I sigh in annoyance and put my hands up.

"You know what, don't even answer that." I turn and go back to rummaging through my suitcase. "I don't know why I even put up with you in the first place." I grumble.

"You think you don't know."

I stiffen and turn around only to find Kaiba behind me. He backs me up until I hit the table. He place his hands on each side of the table beside me and leans down towards my face. I couldn't help but blush because of how close he is.

"But I believe you do."

I stare into his eyes for a moment until I compel myself to regain my bearings. I shake my head a little and push him away, frustrated and annoyed.

"For the last freaking time, I'm not attracted to you! Seriously, what do I have to do to prove that?! Kiss you and not get affected by it?"

He raises an eyebrow and gets close to me again. Why does he keep on doing that?!

"Don't say things that will make you regret it later." I step away from him again and he smirks. "Tell you what. If you can prove that you're not attracted to me, then I'll give you a whole week off."

I laugh sarcastically. "Yeah, that's not happening, Mr. Big Shot. The reward is tempting, but hell no. Lord knows what you want me to do to prove that I'm not attracted you. Besides, I know for a fact that you're the one who's attracted to me." I point to him and myself.

"Hmph." He crosses his arms. "And what makes you think that?"

I put my hand on my hips and roll my eyes. "Please. I know how this game works Kaiba. Guys like you love a good challenge. And the fact that I'm denying my so-called 'attraction' for you, makes you want to woo me anyways. Why else are you trying to make me admit it to you so much?"

He taps his two fingers on his chin. "This is becoming really interesting."

I roll my eyes. So he wants to play it this way huh? Well two can play it on that game. I close my suitcase and cross my arms.

"You know what? Despite the fact of me hating your guts, I'm curious too. We both deny of being attracted to each other, so why not do a challenge?"

"Perfect. What's the challenge?" he asks.

"Whenever we have the chance, we flirt or put the moves on each other. But not in public because it'll give them the wrong idea. Whoever breaks first, loses. Simple as that."

He grins. "What do I get if I win?"

I stare at him. Why do I have a bad feeling about this already? I clear my throat and cross my arms. Now's not the time to be awkward around him. Stand your ground, Karen.

"Whatever you want I guess," I manage to get out.

He stands there, thinking for a minute.

"Alright. I accept this challenge. May the best player win. And that will be me," he smirks.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, okay, Mr. Overachiever. I do believe that you have an inspection to go to. It is 4:15, and that gives you half an hour to get there." I look at my watch. "So I suggest that you should get a move on." I then point to the doors.

He grabs his suitcase from his desk and straightens his tie before walking towards the doors. "Whatever you say." I gasp and freeze when he wraps an arm around my waist and puts his lips near my ear. "Rose," he murmurs against my neck, which almost makes my whole body tremble.

He walks out of his office, leaving me to stand there frozen and speechless. What have I done?

* * *

"So you made a deal with him to be his personal assistant so he can leave your new friends alone? That was a sweet thing to do Karen!" Mom says sweetly over the phone.

I sigh with relief. I thought she was going to be mad at me.

"Well, I didn't want him to make it harder for them. So I did what I could." Someone is knocking on my door. "Oh! I gotta go mom. Dinner's here. Bye!"

I hang up and roll off my bed. I walk to the door and get my dinner: stuffed crust pizza! I have a few slices and go back to work on the duel disk.

Already, a couple hours pass and I still haven't found anything! I swear to God, I'm this close to giving up on this stupid contraption. There's nothing wrong with it!

I sigh when I remember what Dad always told me: 'never give up on the customer if they really need you.' Apparently Seto Kaiba really needs me to fix his duel disk. Damn conscience. I prop my elbow on the table and place my head on my hand. I'd better get a good paycheck out of this.

I work on it until 1 am, then I go to bed. But I couldn't get that much sleep because my stupid brain then started replaying what happened earlier. I literally shivered when he touched me and froze when he got close to me today. It was like I was under a spell of some kind. His eyes. It was like he was...

My eyes widen and I growl, embarrassed and ashamed. I slam a pillow on my face and hit it many times. Ugh! Stop thinking about him! I'm not attracted to him, he's just playing mind games with me, that's all! And I won't fall for it! No way in hell!

With those lovely thoughts, I finally fall asleep, hoping to God that I'll forget what happened today.

* * *

 ** _Well, well, well! Are sparks gonna happen between the two CEO's or not? That little mystery will be solved in the near future. So until then, farewell and have a wonder life!_**

 ** _OH! And I wanna thank Starlit Storyteller and Cuddlekinz0 for favoriting, following, and reviewing my story! It really made my morning when I read them. So thank you very much:)_**


	5. Warehouse Party

**_Hey peeps! Sorry it took me a while to update! Like everyone else, I've been busy with things! So here is Ch. 5 and I hope you all enjoy it!_**

 ** _I do not own any of the original Yugioh characters_**

 **Warehouse Party**

"Hey Guys, D'heres dis big party tonight at dis abandoned warehouse in town. It's gonna be epic! Wanna come?" Joey says excitedly to the rest of us gathered at the table outside.

"Hell yeah! I wouldn't miss it for anything!" Tristan grins.

Téa shakes her head, "Nope, sorry. I got dance class."

"And I have to help Grandpa out with the store tonight," Yugi adds.

"You already know my answer; I'm Seto Kaiba's technician and assistant." I roll my eyes. "Unfortunately."

"What?! Ya mean ta tell me d'at y'all gonna skip out on da biggest and baddest party of da year?!" Both him and Tristan then jump on the table. "D'heres gonna be dancin', drinkin', and we'll be partyin' all night baby!"

"You guys have to go!" Tristan pleads.

I sigh and cross my arms. "Joey, Tristan. We can't go. We got stuff to do. Besides, I'm not a party person."

"Ah c'mon, guys! Just make up a few lies and go! Téa, ya can skip your dance class and tell 'em d'at you were sick. Yugi, tell Gramps that ya gotta study with me for a test on Monday."

Yugi arches an eyebrow at him. "Joey. You don't study for tests. Grandpa knows that."

"D'hen….I dunno! Come up with somethin'!" he points to me. "Karen! Ditch Money Bags and come to da party anyways."

I scoff and chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, no way that's happening. Kaiba will have my ass if I skip work. He'll probably hunt me down for all I know."

"Ah so what? I'll pound 'im to da ground if he tries ta ruin da fun! Ya have four and a half weeks here, Karen! Learn ta live a little!"

We all look at each other. "Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt to take the day off from dance class," Téa slowly says.

"And I think that Grandpa won't mind if I do go," Yugi shrugs.

I rub my temple. "I don't know."

"C'mon, Karen! We're not gonna stop bugging ya unless ya say yes!" Joey pushes.

I groan. I know for a fact that Joey will keep his word and I'm not in the mood to deal with his annoying whining. "Alright fine! I'll go to the stupid party!" I growl.

"Now d'ats what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Joey clasps his hands together.

I then point to Joey and Tristan. "But if I get into any serious trouble, it's your guys' ass."

Both of them jump off the table and chant as they dance around.

"Yeah! We're gonna go party! We're gonna go party!"

"I really need some girlfriends," Téa groans while covering her face.

Mrs. Starch blows the whistle. "Rotate!"

In P.E. we're playing volleyball. Girls against boys. We serve the ball and the boys bounce it around. One guy jumps up and slams it down on our side again. Another point for them. I'm getting irritated because we keep on getting pummeled. The boys serve the ball and bounce it around. I get ready. They hit the ball over to our side, towards me.

Oh, this is going to sting. I hit the ball with my forearms and it goes to another girl. She hits it up high and I decide to run and jump up to it. I slam the ball down on the boys side and earn a point for the girls. After 10 minutes of playing, a substitute comes and takes my place. I grab a white towel and pat my sweaty neck and face. I walk to a water fountain and take a drink.

I put some cool water on my hand and rub it on the back of my neck and face. Ah, that's nice and cool. I jump and stiffen when two strong hands grab my hips. It takes a second, but a familiar cologne fills my nostrils and I figure out who it is.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch the hands there buddy!" I exclaim.

Kaiba moves me aside and takes a drink from the fountain. I shiver for some unknown reason.

"How is my disk coming along?" he asks.

I sigh and pat my face with the towel as I'm walking to the bleachers. "Still nothing. Day and night, I'm dissecting and putting that thing back together. The wires in the disk look like they're in the right place. I can't seem to figure out what it is." I sigh and cross my arms. "I wish my dad taught me more about your guys' technology." I take a seat and take my bun out.

"If you plan on quitting, think again. I'm not wasting my time finding another technician," he glowers.

I look at him. "Are you kidding? I'm not gonna quit. I'm gonna find out what the hell this is. It might be something big." I say setting the towel down. "Besides, I didn't fly 6,738 miles here for nothing."

"You better figure it out before the tournaments start. I can't start it if the disks aren't repaired."

I sigh and stand back up with the towel on the back of my neck. "Relax Kaiba. You'll have your precious disk fixed before the tournaments start, along with the rest."

"Rose! You're back in!" Mrs. Starch suddenly calls.

I look around for any peering eyes and walk up to him. I place my hands on his chest and lean in to whisper near his ear. "I promise." I nudge him with my hip when I walk off to take my place again. Ha!

"So, when exactly is the party, Joey?" I ask over the phone.

"It starts at 6:00. Da warehouse is close to da forests in case da cops show up."

"And what kind of warehouse is it exactly? There's tons of warehouses close to a forest."

"It's just out of town. It was used to store old furniture. I'll text ya the directions. Now, here's da deal. We go in and we gotta make ourselves look presentable."

"Presentable?" I ask.

"Yeah, you know, wear somethin' hot or cool ta fit in with da crowd."

"I'm already rethinking this." I glare.

"Ah, quit your whinin' ya party pooper. It'll be fun!"

I roll my eyes. "Oh yeah, getting attention is totally fun. I can't wait," I say sarcastically.

"Ya see? I know ya'd come around!" he chuckles.

I groan and roll my eyes again. "Does my outfit really have to be hot looking?"

"If ya want ta get around," he replies.

I arrive at the hotel. "Okay, fine. This party better be worth it. Parties like this make me nervous."

"Don't worry 'bout it Karen! You'll be fine."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I'll see you guys at six." I hang up and get out of my car. I go into the hotel and up to my room. Might as well find something to wear at the party. I dig through my luggage. All I brought was clothes that are not the partying type. What am I going to do now? Well… I guess could go shopping, but how would I know what clothes to wear? I think for a minute. Téa! She could help me out! I take out my phone and dial her number.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Hi, Téa. You busy?" I ask.

"Oh! It's so nice to actually go shopping with a friend! I can never go shopping with the boys because all they do is complain. However, boys will be boys," Téa says with a shrug while looking through shirts.

"Yeah. The only person that I ever went shopping with was my mom," I say, looking at pants.

"What? You didn't have any girlfriends to hang out with or anything?"

I shake my head. "No. I didn't really socialize with people back at home. I've always been a bit busy with work and all."

"Oh. Well, that sounds rather lonely," she says.

I shrug and shake my head. "Not really because the employees in my company are my friends. Well, grown-up friends really. They give me good advice, comfort me when times are tough, and they've always been there for me and my mom. But they were not the type for shopping or gossiping like normal teenage girls do."

"Well... at least you have them. It's better than to have no friends at all." She takes out a shirt. "Hey how about this one?"

I look and she holds up a white tube top. I take it and look at it. I shrug. "It'll do, I guess."

I look around and find black leggings piled on each other on a shelf. I walk over to them and grab one. I walk towards the dressing room. I grab a pair of black flat boots I found earlier off the waiting bench. I get dressed in them and check myself in the mirror. I turn to look at my sides and back at my front. Not a bad fit. I look hot enough. Let's see what Téa thinks. I walk out and show her.

"So? Whaddya think? Too slutty?" I ask.

She scoffs. "Are you kidding? You look amazing!" she says.

"You sure?"

"You look fine!" she assures me.

I look down at myself and sigh. "Well. I guess I'll be buying this one then." I look up at her. "What about you? You find something to wear?"

She holds up a bag. "Yep! All set."

I nod and we buy our outfits. After that, we walk out of the store and get in Téa's car.

"Alright… Now what?" I look at her.

"Well, we do have four hours till the party starts. Wanna hang out till then?"

"You mean like have a girl's day?" She nods, and I smile. "I never had a girl's day before."

She starts up her car. "You are now."

We pull out of the parking spot and drive off. We go a nail salon and get a pedicure and manicure. Next we go to a spa and have a nice, relaxing massage and bath. We do some more shopping and go to the arcade. We even did another dance off! Téa won the first two rounds and I only won one. She's really a great dancer. I don't know why I even go up against her!

Right now, we're leaving the arcade, heading to Téa's car so we can go to the party. We're laughing as we walk towards it. I look to my left at a far distance and see a familiar black limo driving on the road in our direction. Kaiba's limo. Panic hits me hard.

"Shit!" I whirl around so he at least won't see my face.

"What?" Téa asks with wide eyes.

"It's Kaiba!"

"What?! Where?!" she looks around quickly.

"Hurry, get in the car before he sees us!" I push her inside the car.

We get in the back seat of her car as quickly as possible and duck down as the limo slowly drives by the arcade. We wait quietly as the limo drives off. We both sigh with relief when it's out of sight.

"Whew! That was close," Téa says sitting up..

I sit up too. "You're telling me? I would've been dead if he saw me walking around having fun while I'm supposed to be working for him."

We both crawl up in the front seats. Téa sighs as she leans back in her seat. I do too and she looks at me.

"Do you think he was looking for you?" she asks curiously.

I look at her. "Maybe. Would it be such a surprise if he was?"

She shrugs and looks ahead. "Normally he wouldn't even care to hunt down any of his employees who are playing hooky. He would just call and fire them. Don't know why he's looking for you. If he was."

I swipe my hand down. "Ah, he's probably just taking a night drive or something."

"But what if he was looking for you?" she asks.

I shrug and grin. "Then I guess I'd better watch my back tonight."

She smiles and leans forward to put the key in the ignition. The car starts. "You ready to go party?"

My smile tells her my answer. When we drive off we scream "Whoo!"

Hard and loud music plays like crazy, we can hear it from a far distance. A lot of teenagers are here. Like tons and tons of them, dancing, drinking, and apparently… making out. Téa and I meet up with the guys, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Duke, and some attractive blonde woman with purple clothing.

"Hey! Ya two finally made it!" Joey yells over the music.

They check our outfits out. Especially mine. "Lookin' good, Karen! You'll fit right in!" Tristan grins.

The blonde woman walks over to Joey and wraps her arm around his waist.

"Joey, who's this? A new friend of yours?" she asks.

"Yeah! Karen, dis is Mai! Mai, dis is Karen Rose! She's from America!"

She looks at me impressed. "Oh really?"

"Yep, she's also workin' for Rich Boy! She's gotta repair da busted dueling disks."

"Oh, my condolences, Honey." she shakes my hand.

"Yeah, thanks. So, you're Joey's girlfriend, huh?" I cross my arm.

"Yep! One and only. So you better back off." she winks teasingly.

I scoff. "Tell him that. He started to hit on me when we first met. Right Joey?"

She looks at him. "What?"

He chuckles nervously. "Uh, she's just jokin' babe. Ya know d'at I would never do d'at ta youse."

I roll my eyes. "Oh, yeah. Way to be honest with her, Joey."

She pulls away from him and punches his arm. "What's the matter with you?! Flirting with other women behind my back?! That is so hot!" She grabs a handful of his shirt and yanks him forward to her lips. She kisses him hard and long. They hold each other and things start to get a little overheated.

"Uh, maybe we should give them a little privacy," Yugi grimaces, pointing to the warehouse.

We all agree as soon as Yugi suggests that. We leave the couple behind and head into the warehouse. Inside is a bunch of people dancing and drinking. It's so crowded, I can barely move around in here!

"Alright! Let's party! Whoo!" Tristan yells.

The others laugh and start dancing. I sigh and join them. I move and bend my body around to the music. My bun falls out as I dance like crazy. I have to admit; this party is not too bad. Good music and a dancefloor: I could do this all night.

After a good hour of solid dancing, we head to the bar and get a couple of drinks. I know it's wrong for a seventeen year old to drink, but it's not like it's gonna kill me if I have a couple. I know better than to get drunk. Mom's told me her stories as a drunk teen.

I walk around alone with a margarita in my hand. The others are off doing their own thing, dancing, talking, drinking. Whatever they want to do really. I walk up some stairs and walk around the top floor. I lean on the railing and look down at the crowd. I take a sip of my drink and look around, trying to find the others.

I always wondered why I never go to parties like this. 'Because it's a waste of my time and it's not important to get drunk and stupid.' Yeah, those are my excuses, but now that I actually went to this one, I might actually go to some more parties like this now. Not too much, though.

I take a drink of my margarita and walk back down on the stairs. I walk around until something catches my eye. Or, a certain someone. My eyes widen and my heart beats like crazy. Oh. My. God. Kaiba?! He's here! And he looks pissed! His eyes are full of rage and he's pushing people out of the way just so he can get through.

"Shit!" I drop my glass and lean away from the railing.

"Karen!"

I look and see Joey and the rest running towards us.

"Da jig is up, Karen! Rich Boy's here!"

"Yeah, I noticed that Joey. Oh damn it! I'm so dead now." I say touching my forehead.

"I knew that he was looking for you!" Téa exclaims.

"Why is he even looking for you anyway? He can't live without you or something?!" Duke asks. I only sigh in frustration.

"We need to get you out of here before he spots you," Tristan says. I don't need to be told twice. So I run off with them, towards the entrance.

 _"How the hell did Kaiba know that I was here?! I don't understand!"_

"Whoa!" Joey yells as he suddenly stops, and we all crash into each other. "He's got da whole place surrounded by 'is goons!"

He's right. Men in black suits and sunglasses are all around the bottom floor and block every possible entrance. We go back into the crowd.

"Well this is new! Kaiba never went through this much trouble to find anyone except Mokuba!" Yugi yells over the noise.

"You're telling me?! He's got the whole place surrounded!" Téa exclaims.

"Now what do we do?" Mai asks. I look around trying to find a way out. Nothing.

"I don't know! I think we're trapped!" We all look around. Great! Now I'm dead for sure.

"Hang on a minute, I know what ta do! Follow me!" Joey beckons as he runs off through the crowd. The others and I look at each other, then follow him. We go towards the back of the warehouse and he moves a tower of boxes away from a wall, revealing a secret door.

"When I need ta sneak out, I sometimes use dis door."

I sigh with relief and give him a big hug. "You are a lifesaver Joey! Thank you!"

"Thank me later! Now let's get outta here," he says, opening it.

We run out and into the forest away from the warehouse, and when we think we're far enough away, we stop. After a few moments of panting, I start to chuckle. The others look at me and Téa starts chuckling too. Then all of us bust out laughing. We laugh so hard we needed to sit down on the ground to keep our balance.

"Whoo! What a rush!" Duke laughs.

"I know! I mean, we were all over the place!" Tristan says.

"Good thing Joey remembered that secret door. Otherwise you would've been dead meat honey," Mai says.

"Yeah. Talk about luck," I grin. We all slow down our breathing and stand back up. "So, how long do you think Kaiba will be there?" I ask.

"I dunno. Probably not d'at long. He hates d'hese kinds of parties."

"Well, that's promising," I sarcastically say with a roll of my eyes.

"So what do we do now? We can't go to our cars because Kaiba's guards are bound to be there," Téa asks.

"And we certainly can't walk home," Mai adds, leading everyone to think about what solution there is to our problem.

As I was thinking, I look down and notice some snow that escaped the warmer weather on the ground. An idea suddenly pops up in my head. A smile breaks out on my face, and I scoop up some of the cold snow in my hand. I aim for Joey's head and throw it when he's not looking

"Maybe we could- Ow!" he yells when it hits his head. I stifle a chuckle by covering my mouth. The others do too while Joey brushes the remaining snow off his head. "All right! Who threw d'at?! I want some answers here!" he demands.

Tristan scoops up some snow too and crushes it into a ball before he throws it at his back.

"Ow! Tristan! Ya little snot!" he shouts at the brunette. Now he scoops up a ball of snow and throws it at Tristan. But he jumps out of the way and it hits Téa instead.

"Ah! Hey!" she exclaims. We all start to pick up snow and throw it at each other. We scream and laugh as we chase each other.

"Snowball fight! Ha-ha! Ow!" Joey yells as a snowball hits his face. We all separate and hide from each other. I run in a different direction away from Joey and I stop to catch my breath. A twig snaps and I gasp. It's one of them. I jump in behind a bush and keep quiet as he or she's footsteps walk towards me. I snicker and hold up the snowball.

' _This'll surprise them.'_

When the footsteps get closer and closer, I finally jump up and throw the projectile at the unfortunate person. Judging from the silhouette, I'm guessing it must be one of the guys. Perhaps Joey?

"Aha! Take this, sucker!" The snowball hits him in the face and he grunts, holding his face. I laugh victoriously and clap my hands. "Ha! Gotcha!" I point to him. "Oh man, Joey! I got you good!"

He brushes the snow off his face and growls. My laughter starts to fade as I begin to recognize that growl. Then I stop laughing completely because not only is this guy not Joey, but is in fact Seto Kaiba himself! And- oh dear God, I just threw a snowball at Kaiba's face! I gape at the furious Kaiba whose fists are clenching and shaking. Okay, I'm going to start running in five seconds.

"Ohhh shit," I moan.

' _Five, four, three, two, one, GO! Run like hell!'_ And that's what I did. I ran away from him as fast as my legs could carry me.

"ROSE!" he hollers.

Now I start to scream when I see that he's chasing me. I run through branches and bushes, not caring if I'm getting farther and farther away from everyone and the warehouse. I just want to get away from him! I look behind me and hope that he's falling behind. Nope, he's actually catching up. Time to scream again.

I scream really loud as he finally catches up to me. He tackles me down to the ground and I struggle and roll around with him violently. That wasn't the best idea because we both roll down a steep hill.

We both tumble down the hill like crazy. I can't see where I'm rolling, only feeling the tossing turning of my poor body; this is definitely one of those times where I wish Kaiba's body was softer. I grunt when his elbow digs in my ribs and his knee jabs into my thigh. Much softer.

Eventually, we roll of some sort of edge – since for a split second I only feel air surrounding me – and we land in a tangled heap, my entire body aching. I groan as I disentangle myself from the man and sit up. Kaiba sits up too, holding his head.

"Ugh! God damn it, Rose! First you skip work, make me go on a search party, throw a snowball at my face, and now you got us lost!"

I gape at him. "I got us lost?! You're the one who chased me through this godforsaken forest and tackled me down this freaking hill!"

"You're the one who ran away like a coward," he growls as he stands up.

I stand up too and dust off the dirt on my clothes. "Only to get away from you. You're fucking scary when you're pissed off."

"Which reminds me," He suddenly grabs my throat and slams me up against a tree. I grunt and try prying his hand off. "Why the hell did you skip work?!"

I try gasping for air. "Kaiba! Can we just talk about this in the morning?!" I wheeze.

"You put me through all kinds of hell and you want to talk about this in the morning?!" He lets go of me and I drop down to my knees, holding my throat, coughing. He jerks himself around and growls. "You are unbelievable, Rose!"

I stand back up, still holding my throat. "Well excuse me for wanting to take a break! I have rights too you know!" I say hoarsely. That bastard!

He looks at me. "Not with me you don't!"

"So I've noticed!" I growl. I then look around and try to find some way out of this forest. 'Great. This is just great. This is really, really great. We're lost.' I think to myself. I cup my mouth and scream. "YUGI! JOEY! TÉA!"

"No one is here, Rose! They're not going to hear us!" he snaps.

"Well, unlike you, I can still try. Now shut up and try to find a way out of this place. Call your men in suits or something."

"I would but I can't for two reasons. One: We're in the middle of nowhere, so there's no phone service. Two: Because of your idiotic behavior, I lost my phone on the hill somewhere."

I look at him. "You're kidding!" I growl in frustration and kick the ground. "Why does everything turn out bad for me when I have to deal with you?!" I kick the ground again. "Unfucking real!" I yell.

"You don't have to say it twice," he growls.

I jerk myself around to him. I storm up to him, face to face. I jab my finger on his chest. "This is all your fault!" I yell.

"My fault?!" he asks incredulously.

"Yes! If you would've stayed where you were and not look for me, none of this would've happened!"

"No, if you would've came to work, like you're required to do, then none of this would've happened!" he shoots back.

I growl and turn around. "I don't understand why you were looking for me anyway! You never go through this much trouble to find any other employees who play hooky on you!"

"I was looking for you because I thought that something happened!" I turn back around to look at him, only to be met with his glare. "You're an important individual to the corporation. I need you to repair my dueling disk as soon as possible. I cannot afford to lose you and find another technician. There's no time left."

For a minute there, I thought that he was actually worried about me. I glare at him. "Gee, thanks for worrying about me and my safety." I turn around and cross my arms. He growls and walks away, deeper into the forest.

"What are you doing?!" I call.

"We can't sit here and wait for someone to find us."

"But you don't even know where you're going!"

"Look, you can either stay here or follow me! Your choice, Rose!" he says over his shoulder. He then disappears into the darkness. I shake my head and growl. No way am I letting a wolf eat me! I'll need Kaiba to throw in its path. Ugh. I jog after him.

"Just because I'm following you, it doesn't mean that I depend on you." I say when I catch up to him, prepared to shove him if a wolf does show up.

"I'll believe it when I see it, Rose." he says.

I roll my eyes and we walk together through the forest, hoping to find a way out.

 ** _Ooh! Will these two survive the deadly forest? Find out next chapter! See ya all later;)_**


	6. Lost Secrets

**_Tada! Here is Ch. 6! Read and enjoy:)_**

 ** _I do not own Yugioh or the characters except my OC, Karen Rose_**

 **Lost Secrets**

I splash some cold water from a small creek on my face. Kaiba and I have been out here in the forest for two hours, and no one has found us yet. Not even a glimpse of Kaiba's guards! Neither of us have a phone, and there's no building or any people in sight. We're completely lost. And I'm stuck with none other than Seto Kaiba himself. Yay.

I put my hair up in a ponytail and dry my hands off as I stand back up. "Shouldn't your guards have a helicopter flying up in the sky with a spotlight by now?" I ask half-mockingly. Seriously, I want to get out of here!

Kaiba, who's arranging some sticks together like a teepee, scoffs, "They know that I can take care of myself. If I'm not seen for a couple of days, then the search parties start."

I look at him. "So, you're pretty much saying that they're not looking for us right now?"

"They might be. I don't know nor care."

I sigh and sit on a big log in front of the fire pit. "Well, it doesn't matter if they're looking for us or not because I know that Yugi and the others are."

"Oh yeah, leave it to the nerd herd to come and rescue us." I roll my eyes. No matter what I say to him, he still calls them dweebs, geeks, nerds, and losers. "Even if they are looking, how exactly are they going to find you?"

"Easy. They'll call the police to have a search party for me the old-fashioned way. Looking and hearing."

"Which will take forever," he leers.

"Oh quit complaining. They'll be quicker than your guards, since they apparently won't even start looking for a few days," I point out smugly.

"Whatever," he huffs, making me grin in victory. Kaiba takes out a lighter and starts a small flame on the dried grass he stuffed with the sticks. He cups his hand around the baby flame and gently blows on it, the sticks now beginning to burn. Glad to have some form of light and warmth in this darkness, I go over and join the man. I sit on my knees and hold my hands towards fire. Well, at least he's useful for something. I shiver and rub my arms. Jeez! It sure gets cold out here at night. I should've brought a coat. I move closer to the fire.

I then start to wonder about Kaiba's search for me. He was looking for me in the city, he came to the party, and he was looking in the forest. Was it possible that he did know where I was? I look at him.

"How did you know where to find me?" I ask.

He leans against a log behind him as he sits back. "I didn't. I just looked where you could've been."

"And you actually thought that I would be at the party?"

"You were, weren't you?" he glances at me.

"Well, yeah, but I don't go to those types of parties. That was my first one. Joey talked me into it."

"I'm not surprised." he rolls his eyes.

"Okay. I can understand you checking the party, but how did you know to look in the forest?"

"One of my guards saw you." Of course. They were everywhere.

I look at the fire and bring my knees up to my chest. "Well that explains a lot."

He winces again. "Stupid neck's killing me, no thanks to you," he gestures to me.

"Well I'm not the one who tackled us down a steep hill!"

"Which you rolled us off of." He snaps.

"Maybe that's because I was trying to get away from you!" I shoot back.

"Because you were too much of a coward to face me!"

"Because I needed a break." I correct him.

"From work?"

"From you, actually." I point at him and cross my arms.

"Really? I highly doubt that." He smirks. Oh god. Here he goes again. I swear, this man is freaking bipolar!

I groan and scoot away from the fire to my own log. "I'm not doing this again, Kaiba. It's one thing for me to be stuck here with you for lord knows how long, but to listen to you still assuming that I'm attracted to you is more than I can handle!" I lean my head back. "All I want is to get out of here and go back to my warm hotel." I say.

"What time should I come over?" he grins with hooded eyes. I growl at him. He just won't shut up! I scoop up some dirt and throw it at him.

"You're such a disgusting pig!" I yell.

"Not my fault you set yourself up all the time."

Alright, that's it!

I stand up. "Okay, you know what?! I'm done." I throw my arms up. "I'm done!" I storm off in a direction away from him.

"Going out there alone is not a good idea, Rose! You don't know what's out there! You'll never survive!" he calls.

"Oh yeah?! Well you just wait until I get out of here and you're still stuck in here being a perverted psychopath!" I holler at him. I keep on walking through the bushes and branches. "And don't you worry about me! I'll do just fine without you!" I look back at the dark forest and continue to walk. Kinda spooky in the dark. It's like I'm in a horror movie; I'm the girl who gets lost in the deep dark forest and somewhere out there, something's waiting to pounce on her.

What am I scared of? There's nothing out here but animals. Possibly carnivorous animals. God, I hope not. No! Stop thinking about it and try to find a way to get out of this death place! You're trying to prove Kaiba wrong! You can do this!

I take a deep breath and gather my courage. I step over some logs and rocks and push past some more branches. I gasp and jump when I hear a bird screech. Relax, Karen. It's just a bird. Nature's harmless flying creature. Relax.

I stop to look around. No lights, no voices, no nothing. This is going to take a while.

I start walking again. I've been walking for quite some time, maybe like an hour or two. I huddle in on myself. Damn this cold air!

To distract myself, I say aloud, "Doesn't think that I can handle myself out here. Who does he think he is, Tarzan?" I scoff. "Well I'll show him. Then we'll see who's the best survivor out here."

I take another step forward and the ground suddenly becomes upside down. "Ahh!" I exclaim, feeling a tightness around my left ankle. "What the hell?!" I grunt as I try lifting myself up towards the rope, but I fail. I struggle as hard as I can, but that doesn't do anything. I growl as I try everything possible to free myself. The one time I decided not to bring my swiss army knife!

I give up and dangle in the air like a deer hide that's drying. I cross my arms. Great. This is great. First, I get lost in the woods along with biggest pain in the ass, and then I get stuck in an animal trap. Great!

Suddenly, I hear chuckling. I gasp and look around. A silhouette of a man is in the shadows. A familiar figure. I growl in frustration. Not him. Anybody but him!

"You'll do just fine without me, huh? You're doing one hell of a job keeping yourself in place," Kaiba crosses his arms, still smirking.

I cross my arms again. "And you're the one to talk. Couldn't live without me being by your side Kaiba?" I sneer.

"Not if you plan on staying upside down."

I roll my eyes. "Look if you're just going to ridicule me then you should probably leave. If not, then get me the hell down from here."

"You're seriously giving me the chance to leave you dangling in this trap?" he asks.

"Well it's pretty obvious that you're just going to try to make me admit that I need you to help me. But I'd rather die and hang here for rest of my days than to admit such a thing."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Rose, you are so stubborn and moronic, you amuse the hell out of me." He takes a step forward and he's suddenly upside down too.

"Jesus! What the?!" I smirk and point to him.

"And what does this make you right now?"

"Goddamn you, Rose! You tricked me!"

I glare at him. "Oh yeah! Blame it all on me, will you?! Give it up for Karen Rose everybody!" I call out. "Seriously Kaiba, do you really think that I would trick you? My only way of getting down?!"

"God damn it!" he curses.

"Yeah, no shit Kaiba!" I yell. How in the hell are we supposed to get down from here now?! We both try to struggle our way out of the ropes but none so far.

Suddenly, I hear a creak coming from the branch. I smack his chest. "Hey, hold it!" He stops struggling and we stay quiet. "Did you hear that?" I look up and struggle again. The branch creaks once more. I chuckle. "Well talk about luck! This branch is almost dead. If we create enough force, this branch will break off."

"And just how do you suggest we do that?" he sneers.

"How about you try bouncing or something, Mr. Ray of Sunshine!" I glare before I start to struggle violently. Kaiba reluctantly joins in. I manage to get enough momentum to get close to the tree trunk, and I push myself away from it. However, I push too hard and end up colliding with Kaiba. We're facing each other with our bodies pressed up against each other.

I blush like crazy and try pushing him away. "Do you mind?!"

"I'm not the one who got us tangled up!"

I wriggle with everything I've got – because I have to get away from this infuriating man – and suddenly we get jolted. Then a loud splintering noise sounds and my stomach drops.

"Jesus, watch out!"

Kaiba wraps around me as we fall, immediately rolling us once we hit the ground, and the branch slams onto the spot where we were not just a second earlier. We stop rolling, leaving Kaiba on top of me. We stare at the broken branch and look at each other.

Realizing that he's on top of me, I start to push him off. "Ugh! Get off me!" I hiss. I push him off and untighten the rope around my left foot. I yank it off and stand up immediately. I dust myself off and sigh with disgust.

"I believe that a 'thank you' is in order," he says standing up as soon as he gets his rope off of his foot.

I point to him. "Just because you saved my life doesn't mean that I'm going to suddenly like you. Just name your request."

"Don't you ever skip work again," he says without hesitation.

"Fine! Deal. I wasn't going to, anyway." I turn and walk away. Glad that's over with. Kaiba's strong hand grabs my wrist and jerks me around. "Hey!" I exclaim.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asks.

I try jerking my wrist out of his hand but he's got a good grip on it. "I'm going to find a way out of here. Like I've been doing these past few hours, genius."

He scoffs. "I don't think so, Rose. You're going to get hurt out there. Hell, you might even get yourself caught in another trap. You're staying with me."

I finally yank my wrist out of his grip. "The hell I am!" I hiss. I turn and walk away from him again. I hear him walk towards me.

"Damn it Rose-"

I punch his jaw and kick him in the stomach. I run away from him as fast as my legs can take me. He growls and chases after me.

After a minute of chasing me, he finally tackles me down. I scream and struggle violently with him. "GET OFF ME!"

Kaiba pulls out a vine from somewhere on the ground and ties it around my wrists. After that, he ties my feet together. He rolls off and sit down beside me, touching his jaw.

"You're going to pay for that, Rose." I growl furiously as I struggle with the vines.

"Kaiba, you bastard! Untie me right now!"

He scoffs and stands up. "Not on your life." He walks up to me and picks me up. "Like I said before. You're staying with me." He throws me over his shoulder and walks in the direction where I came from. After a few hours of walking and me cursing the hell out of Kaiba, we end back up at our fire camp. He sets me down against a log and sits down next to me. He sighs and runs his hand through his sweaty brown hair.

"You need to lose some weight, Rose. Carrying you back here was worse than lifting weights." I ignore him and remain quiet. He looks at me. "Oh, now you decide to shut your mouth. That would've been nice to have a few hours back." I still ignore him, and he sighs, irritated. "Don't be mad at me for this. You brought this upon yourself. You deserve it."

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Whatever, shithead." I grunt when he grabs and squeezes my throat.

"As much as I would love to snap that little neck of yours, I would appreciate it if you would watch that dirty mouth of yours. I have had a hell of a day and the more you keep up with this bitch attitude, the less of a chance you get of me untying you." He pushes me away, letting my throat go and leans his head back against the log, closing his eyes. I look to glare at his peaceful face. As I begin to glare at him, the more I realize that he just wants me to stay alive. Even if he needs me to repair his precious disk.

I look back down and sigh. "I'm sorry." I say softly. He opens his eyes and looks at me. I still look down. "I shouldn't have acted like that. I was angry and I wanted to get away from you." Now I look at him. "And I'm not just saying that so I can get you to untie me. I'm telling you this because I truly am sorry. You're just trying to do what's best for me to stay alive. All because you need me to fix your dueling disk. But either way, I'm grateful. So, in other words. Thank you."

I look back at the fire and I can feel him staring at me. "You're either a great liar or you really meant what you said."

I shrug. "You don't have to believe me. What you think is your business." I say. He looks away and we sit there in complete silence. After a few minutes of that, he sighs, defeated. He leans over and starts untying my hands.

"I don't know what I'm thinking, but I hope that I'm making the right choice. I had enough chasing for one day." He unties my hands. I rub my sore wrists and untie my feet. I bring my knees up to my chest.

"Thank you."

"Whatever." He crosses his arms. I look around then at the dead fire. If we're going to keep warm, then I should get the fire going. I look around on the ground and grab a few sticks. I crawl to the dead fire and set them up like a teepee. I look at Kaiba, who's watching me carefully.

"You got that lighter?" I ask. He sighs and digs through his pockets. He takes it out and tosses to me. I flip the lid off and a small flame lights up. I put the flame at the bottom of a stick and let the flame eat up the rest. I toss the lighter back to Kaiba.

"Thanks again." He rolls his eyes as he puts the lighter back in his pocket. I look back at the fire and hold my hands up. I rub them together and scoot back next to Kaiba. We both sit there in silence, watching the fire get bigger and bigger.

"Do you think that we'll have to spend the night here?" I ask. He doesn't say anything for a while.

"Yeah." he eventually sighs.

I sigh and bring my knees to my chest again. "I thought so." I say.

I let go of my knees and hold my arms. I shiver, and Kaiba notices. He rolls his eyes and takes off his white trench coat. He wraps it around me and I look at him surprised. That's one nice thing he's ever done for me. I clutch it and smile at him.

"Won't you get cold?" I ask.

"I can handle it." he says. I shrug and get comfortable. I sigh and stare at the fire. As I stare at the burning fire, I begin to think about Yugi and the rest. I wonder how they're doing now.

I take a quick little glance at Kaiba and wonder something else. Why does he hate Yugi so much? Well maybe not hate but he's not really fond of him. I've heard about Kaiba's history with Yugi in dueling. And that's the question that pops into my head. Does Kaiba have a grudge against Yugi because he beat him in a duel?

I look down. "Kaiba…can I ask you something?" I ask. Kaiba looks at me and I look at him too. "Do you hate Yugi because he beat you in a duel?"

He stares at me and looks away. "What brought this up?"

I shrug. "Oh, well, I... I can't help but think about your behavior towards the guys. Especially towards Yugi. I mean, I know that you don't hate him but... you're still not fond of him. And maybe... you can tell me why."

He doesn't say anything but his silence is enough for me to know the answer to my question. "Okay Kaiba, I understand that you have your pride and you don't like to lose anything. But it was just one duel. I mean, it was bound to happen. No one is perfect."

He looks at me, glaring. "If you would've said that to my father, he would've beaten the shit out of you."

I stare at him and he looks at the fire. "You don't understand what I go through Rose. That day. That one little twirp. Beats me. Me, Seto Kaiba, in a duel. He made me look weak. Worthless. Nothing but a joke in all Japan," he glowers. He shakes his head and exhales sharply. "I would've been the top duelist if it weren't for him. I had it all. Power, respect, everything." He looks at me now. "And I lost it all to some twerp, who is nobody important. People look up to him now." He looks away.

I look away too and shake my head. "You know," I say. Kaiba looks back at me and I look at him too. "that's exactly what your father would say."

He stares at me, keeping his face the same but his eyes tell me that his anger is growing. "What?" he asks, deathly quiet. I stare at him.

"All that he ever cared about was power, respect, and himself. He never cared about anything else. Not even you or Mokuba. He was a heartless monster." I point to Kaiba. "I bet that he made you this way. I believe that he wanted you to be like him."

"You're wrong!" he hisses.

"Am I, Kaiba? Am I? From what you just told me, you only hate Yugi because he made you look weak. You lost all your power and respect from everybody! Is that all you ever cared about losing?! What about Mokuba? Huh? What if you lost him? Then what?" I ruthlessly point out.

I then sigh and look away for a moment. "Look, I know that you went through a lot of pain and abuse with your father. Hell, you got scarred from it, but that doesn't mean that you have to be like him. There are things out there that are more important than just yourself."

He growls and looks away. I place my hand on his arm. "You can't be like this forever, Kaiba. If you do… then there will be nothing left for you in this world."

He jerks his arm away and looks at me. "What would you know about pain?! You never went through the pain that I felt!"

"No, I haven't, but I did go through with my father's death! That is the kind of pain that you never want to go through with. Ever." Tears spill from my eyes and I look away, sniffling. "You may not care but you cannot imagine the pain that I felt when my father died."

I sniffle again and wipe my eyes. "By the time when I was born, he promised that he would always be there for me. And he was! He loved me, he cared for me, he even trusted me with his life. But then he went too far and got sick. He died Kaiba! My only father, who I loved and was my best friend. Gone! And I'll never see him again! Do you how hard it is to get over the fact that you lost someone that you loved?!" I ask.

I bury my face in my knees and cry softly. "Of course you don't. Because you never had anyone who was important to you except Mokuba. If Mokuba died, then you would have felt the same pain that I felt. Guilt!"

When I'm done talking, we didn't say anything else to each other for a very long time. "Guilt? Why would you feel guilty for your father's death?" he finally asks and I slowly look up.

"Because I think that…it was my fault that he died." I say softly. I wipe my eyes again. "Do you remember when I was worried about your health the other day?" I ask.

"What about it?" he asks, unsure about where I'm going with this.

"Well, the reason why I was worried about that is because… well you reminded me of him. He used to work day and night without having anything to eat or drink. He would stay up for days trying to keep his business going." I look down. "I was so interested in taking over, he decided that he was going to make it perfect for me. He tried to get the hard stuff done and leave the easy stuff for me to deal with when I do take over. He did all of that, just so I could be happy. He basically killed himself for me." My bottom lip quivers and I shake my head. "And I let him." my voice quivers and I place my hand on my face. "I let him kill himself. I should've stopped him." I whimper. "I should've stopped him!" Now I begin to cry. Kaiba sighs and takes me in his arms. I sob on his chest.

"Jesus Rose."

"Oh God, what have I done, Kaiba?! What have I done?!" I yell.

"It's all right Rose."

"No, it's not all right! My dad is gone because of me. I killed him!" He grabs both of my shoulders and pulls me away.

"Look at me Rose." I don't. "Rose, look at me, damn it!" he commands. Now I do look up at him and try composing myself. "You did not kill him. Both of you didn't know what was going to happen then. So it's not your fault. It's never been your fault. Okay?" I look down then back at him. "So stop blaming yourself. None of this was on purpose." He lets me go and leans back on his log. "And you're right. I would feel a lot more pain if Mokuba died. I would never forgive myself for not being there for him." I look down and he crosses his arms. "And I'm not becoming like my father. No way in hell am I ever going to be like him. I'd rather die."

I lean back on the log and clutch onto his trench coat. "You're not entirely like him." I say and he looks at me. "You have a heart. You cared about things while he didn't care about anything at all. That's the only difference between you and him. And that is something that I truly admire about you Kaiba. You still care." I say smiling.

I look at the fire while Kaiba still stares at me. He looks at the fire too. "You never cease to amaze me Rose," he states. I look at him. "Whenever things get rough, you don't get scared or run away. You stand your ground and fight. Not that much women are like that. And I respect that about you."

I smile. "Really?"

"You also don't complain much."

I chuckle, "Okay, I'll take that as a compliment." He looks down.

"Just for the record. I don't hate Yugi. There's just a part of him that I do hate."

"Okay. I'm not sure what that means but I'm sure I'll figure that out later," I shrug.

"I wouldn't bet on that," he scoffs.

I smile softly at him. "You know, you're pretty handsome when you're nice." I say. He scrunches his face and he looks at me. I yawn and stretch out my arms.

"Well, it's getting late. I'm gonna go to sleep. You sure that you'll be okay? You know, you'll keep warm?" I ask, and he looks and gestures to the fire.

"I've got the fire."

"Okay." I nod. I lean towards him and kiss his cheek. I don't know why I did that but I did it anyway. He looks surprised himself. "Good night Kaiba. And… thank you."

"For what?" He asks as I start to lay on my side.

"For everything," I reply. I tuck my arm under my head as a pillow and get comfortable on the ground. He doesn't say anything so I close my eyes and go to sleep. I'm glad that we settled our differences. He can be not such a bad guy after all. He can actually be rather… sweet. I better keep this in mind when he's all pissy again, though. I still believe him to be bipolar.

 ** _Oh my God! Secrets were told! (Gasps) What gonna happen next?! Find out the next chapter to see:) Fare the well everyone!_**


	7. Getting Acquainted

**Sorry it took a long time to update. I've been busy with things and I just posted a new story. So yeah! Busy busy;) Anyways here's Ch. 7. Enjoy!**

 **Getting Acquainted**

 _I hug him tightly. "You can't leave me yet! You're my father! You're suppose to be here with me. You and mother!"_

 _"And we will be. In here." he pulls me away and points to my heart. "Always." I look down but he lifts my face back up._

 _"Promise me that you will grow up to be a strong and courageous woman. And that you will live a long and good life. Promise me."_

 _I sniffle and wipe my eyes. "I...I promise."_

 _"And no matter what happens. You will always bring happiness into the world. You will do that for me. Won't you?" I nod and I hug him again. "I love you!" I whimper._

 _He hugs me with all his strength. "And I love you. My little angel. Goodbye."_

 _We stay in that position until his grip on me loosens and his heartbeat fades. When I feel him go limp, I sob on his chest._

 _"Oh daddy!!"_

I suddenly open my eyes. It was just a dream. An unusual one again. Who was that man? And why did I call him 'daddy'? I shake my head and rubs my eyes. I don't know what up with me and these weird dreams. Won't they ever stop?!

I sigh and start to notice something. I'm warm. It's like I'm next to someone. I look up and see that I'm snuggled up next to Kaiba. My arms are wrapped around his torso and...his arms are wrapped around me! My eyes widen and I blush hard.

I must've snuggled up to him during my sleep. And we must've...gotten into this position. I plan on pulling away but before I do, I take one good look at his slumbering face. He looks so…peaceful. Instead of having that irritation and that 'I don't care' look, he is actually at peace. And for some reason, I have the urge to brush some of his hair out of his face to get a better view of him.

But I'm afraid that I'll wake him up and I doubt that he would expect to see me in his arms. So I slowly and carefully pull away from him and stand up. I look up and notice that the sky is brighter. It must be morning. I place my hand on my stomach as it rumbles. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday at lunch. I gotta find some food and make breakfast.

I look at Kaiba's white trench coat and remember that he gave it to me because I was cold. I take it off and stare at it, before smiling softly. I look at Kaiba and quietly walk up to him to kneel down and gently covering him up with his coat

He inhales and moves his head a little. I stare at him and gently move some of his bangs away from his face. He's kind of cute when he's sleeping. I stand back up and walk away. I don't go too far because I don't want to get lost again. I look around for something edible. I spot a bush full of berries. I walk up to it and pick one. I sniff it and study it just to see if it's poisonous.

These berries look familiar. I squeeze it and pure dark reddish and purple juice comes out. Honeysuckle! That's a great start. I start to collect a lot of berries into my shirt and walk back to camp. I place the berries on a piece of bark, where it won't get dirty.

I slide them towards Kaiba and went off to find something else. I look up at some trees and find a nest. Ooh! Maybe I could make some eggs for breakfast. I jump up and grab ahold of a tree branch. I swing myself up on the branch and start climbing up towards the nest. I'm glad that I climbed trees when I was younger, otherwise I would have trouble getting up here.

I reach the nest and look inside. Three white eggs are inside the nest. I look a around for the mama bird. You never know if she can be anywhere close. No bird in sight.

I reach in the nest and grab the eggs. I carefully climb down so I won't break or drop them. I put the eggs in one hand and use my other hand to help me swing down. I feel bad for taking a bird's eggs. I mean I love animals but you gotta do what you gotta do in order to survive.

Eggs are still good. I walk back to camp and start the fire back up. I didn't use Kaiba's lighter to light it back up, instead I rub two sticks together really fast.

I get two big flat rocks and wash them in the nearby creek. After they're dry, I set them down near the fire and crack one egg on it. I use a stick to move it around and I cook it until it's ready. I do the same with the last two and let them cool off a bit.

I hear Kaiba stir awake. He groans and flutters his eyes open. I reach over and grab the rock with two eggs.

"Morning." I greet.

When he's fully awake, he looks at the fire and food. "What's this?"

"It's breakfast. Berries and eggs. I found them in the forest when I woke up. Don't worry, I checked the berries and they're not poisonous." I place the eggs beside him and his fair share of berries.

"I figured that you might be hungry. Hell, I was. So eat up."

He stares at me then starts eating his berries. I eat my egg first because I love eggs. Berries for me are like dessert. I finish my berries and thankfully I'm full.

"Whoo! I'm stuffed. How about you?" I ask leaning back on the log.

He stares at the rock where his eggs were. "It was satisfying."

He tosses the rock and bark away. I dust my hands off and lean back on the log.

"Alright. So what's going on now? Are we going to stay here and wait for someone to find us or are we going to try to find a way out of here?"

"What do you think?" he sneers and I shrug.

"Personally, I'd like to get out of this hell hole by let's say today. What about you Mr. Sarcasm? What is your plan?" I sarcastically ask already knowing his answer.

He glares at me and I roll my eyes.

"You're always cranky, you know that?" I yawn as I stretch out my arms and legs. "And I'm not even surprised as usual." I say.

I lay my head back on the log. "When are we leaving?" I ask. "Now." he says getting up.

I look up at him. "Now?" I ask.

"Yes now. Do you want me to carry you?"

I sigh and stand up too. "No thanks." I walk past him. "I don't need you to criticize my weight again."

When he basically called me fat last night, it stayed with me. It's not too much of a big deal but I find it irritating that he thinks that. People say that I have a great body. Maybe he just said that to annoy me.

Both of us walk through the forest unsure of where we're going. Due to our previous encounter with the traps last night, we now watch where we step. For some reason, I keep on remembering Kaiba being on top of me when he saved me from that branch last night. I don't know why it came to my mind but it did.

I also realize that whenever he touches me, I shiver in a way that I can't comprehend.

Is it because I'm disgusted by his sick mind or is it possible that I might….oh my god I can't believe that I'm even thinking this. I don't know, like it when he touches me? I really don't know and I don't want to know. I just don't know why I keep on thinking about it.

"Rose." Kaiba says breaking my thoughts.

I look at him. "What?" I ask a little embarrassed that I was just thinking about him.

"You better get your head out of the clouds and pay attention to where you step. I can't allow you hurting yourself."

I grin and chuckle. "Awe. It's so sweet of you to worry about me Kaiba." I lay my head on his shoulder.

I laugh when he walks faster just to get away from me.

"Laugh it all out Rose because when we get out of here, you'll be doing some extra work for me. Then we'll see who's laughing then." he calls.

"I'm sure you will Kaiba. I'm sure you will." I roll my eyes.

We continue to walk through the forest in complete silence. I start to admire mother nature's beauty as I walk past some cool looking plants. I gotta admit, this forest is full of wonders and beauty when you look at it differently.

"You know, now that I think about it, this forest ain't so bad when you look closely at-"

Kaiba suddenly stops like he saw a ghost or something. I look at him confused. "Uh Kaiba? You okay?"

"Shh!" he hisses. "What?! What is it? Do you see-"

He covers my mouth with his hand. I muffle with defiance. "I told you to shut up!" he hisses quietly in my ear.

He looks ahead and stares at something. I look in the direction where he's looking and see something move in the trees. Orange and black stripes. A big cat like creature. A tiger. My eyes widen and muffle out a gasp.

"Shh! God damn it Rose! You're going to catch its attention!"

I breath hard through my nose, hoping that the tiger won't spot us.

"He must've came from a nearby jungle. We need to hide somewhere where he can't track our scent." he says looking around.

His eyes look around and finally land on a big burrowing hole. He points to it.

"There. He'll think that we'll be an animal that's hiding in that hole. He won't bother trying to dig it out or anything."

He looks back at the tiger and whispers softly in my ear again. I blush and shiver again. Seriously, what's with that?!

"Okay Rose. I want you to walk very slowly and quietly to that hole. Can you do that?"

I respond with a nod. He slowly uncovers my mouth and like Kaiba said, I walk towards the hole very slowly and quietly. I sneak in and Kaiba follows me in. I plug my nose when I smell an unpleasant odor.

"Ugh. What exactly lives here? It reeks." I whisper. "Will you shut up?! He's coming!" he hisses quietly.

I immediately shut my mouth and hold my breath. Kaiba stares up at the surface and starts to push me back.

"Get back."

We both scoot further back in the hole. We wait for a few minutes and I suddenly hear some growling and sniffs. I gasp but I cover my mouth before any sound could get out. I squeeze my eyes shut and tell myself that the tiger won't find us.

 _"This animal's musk is disguising our scent. He can't find us."_

When I hear a giant paw clawing the opening of the hole, I scoot closer to Kaiba for protection. I grab ahold of his arm and bury my face on his shoulder.

 _"Just let this pass already. Please god, just make him go away."_

The clawing stops and the tiger's footsteps along with its growling and sniffing, fades away. I open my eyes and look at the entrance. Is he gone? I look at Kaiba, who's also staring at the entrance. Realizing that I'm holding his arm, I let go of him and scoot back to my original spot.

"Is he gone?" I whisper.

Kaiba starts to crawl towards the entrance. He stands up and pokes his head out. He looks around cautiously for a few minutes. Finally, he kneels down and looks at me. He nods once, telling me that it's safe to come out. I reluctantly crawl to the entrance and poke my head out when Kaiba crawls out. I look around and see nothing here. I sigh with relief and Kaiba extends his hand out to me.

I look at his hand and and take it. He pulls me up and gets me out of the hole. I sigh and dust myself off.

"Well that was….terrifying." I say.

"You were terrified? I was worried that you weren't ever gonna shut up. You almost gave us away." Kaiba says straightening his coat.

"Hey! I didn't know that you saw a tiger. I don't have your supervision. Plus it's kinda hard to remain calm and silent when a man eating carnivore is close by." I say pointing to him.

He smirks as he dusts himself off. "Well you had nothing to worry about since I was your protector."

I cross my arms and look away. "I don't know what you're talking about." I lie.

"Liar. Admit it Rose. You can't resist me."

"I'm not going to admit anything to you Kaiba. Like I said before, I am not, and I mean _not,_ attracted to you in any way! Now I hope that it was clear to you this time."

"I'll believe you when you don't shiver everytime I touch you." he calls walking away.

He noticed that?! I catch up with him. "That was out of disgust! Not pleasure Kaiba!!!"

"Again. I'll believe it when I see it. Or feel it. Whichever you're comfortable with."

I glare at him and roll my eyes. Why is he so committed on making me admit that I'm attracted to him? Sure he is attractive in some ways but not all the time.

Some girls will fall for him immediately because of how handsome and powerful he is. But for me, I don't even care about that. I don't fall for the things that other girls are attracted to.

"So how far do think we are from the city?" I ask.

"Very far." He replies bluntly. "Great." I say sarcastically.

"It won't take us another day to get there, I can tell you that. We'll probably get there somewhere close to midnight."

"Midnight? Why stay up so late when we could make another camp somewhere else and go in the morning?"

"Because. I had enough of this nightmare. I need to get back and make sure that everything is still in place."

Now when he means that he needs to check that everything is in place, he means that he wants to be with Mokuba. I smile and nod.

"Ohhh. I see now. Tomorrow is Mokuba's birthday and you want to be there before it comes. Well why didn't you say so? I can understand that." He looks at me. "You know, you're really annoying when you think you're right."

I chuckle. "Because I _am_ right. Kaiba there's no shame on being the big brother here. Family's gotta watch out for each other. They especially need to be there for them no matter what. Like how I'm always there for my mom. She's always there for me, I'm always there for her. It's a win win." I shrug.

He shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "You're unpredictable Rose. One day you're tough and irritating then the next day you're so….positive and happy. It's annoying and unusual."

I scoff. "Only for you. You're never positive or happy for the good things that go on around you. I'm sure that there are some things but you don't show it. So pretty much you're the one who's unpredictable. No one can tell what the hell you're feeling! But for me, I know that you're secretly happy about Mokuba's birthday. All brothers and sisters are happy when their family is happy." I say leaning towards him.

He looks at me again. "How would you know? Do you have any siblings?"

My smile disappears and my eyes look down.

"I did. Well sort of." I say.

He still stares at me like he wants me to talk about it. I sigh and look up ahead.

"Years ago before my dad died, my mom and him wanted another child."

 _~(Flashback)~_

 _I secretly watched the birthing process from a window. Mom screams in agony when the nurses just delivered the baby from her. The wailing newborn cries and the doctors check the baby._

 _"It's a girl!!" The nurse announces._

 _Mom and dad laugh with joy and I smile happily. I was going to have a sister!!_

 _"Oh thank you! Please let me see her! Let me see Mila!" Mom requests._

 _The nurse is about to hand Mila to her but then she looks down at the small yet quiet newborn then back at my mom and dad._

 _"Get me Dr. Polanski now!!" the nurse orders other nurses. "This baby's heart stopped beating!"_

 _"What?!! No! No, no, no!!! What's wrong with my baby??!!" Mom shrieks._

 _"Get Mr. and Mrs. Rose to the room!" A doctor orders._

 _Nurses ushered mom and dad out of the delivery room and I run to dad._

 _"Dad!! Dad what's wrong!! What's wrong with Mila??!!" I panic. "Everything's going to be fine Karen! Just stay in the waiting room and I'll be there in a while!"_

 _He runs off with the rest of the nurses with my mom. I stand there motionless until I do what I'm told. I waited with dad until a doctor came up to us. He told us what happened. She went into shock and her heart stopped beating._

 _"But she's okay now right? My baby sister is alive?"_

 _The doctor says nothing for his face tells me all. Tears swell up in my eyes and I fall to my knees, crying. "I'm so sorry." he said before walking away._

 _Dad kneels down and hugs me in comfort, feeling the same aching pain I felt. For I have lost my baby sister._

 _~(Flashback ends)~_

"The doctors and nurses tried very hard but they couldn't do anything to save her."

Kaiba stares at me and I nod. "Yeah. I lost my baby sister too. I never got the chance to hold her or even see her alive." I sigh and close my eyes.

"I'm losing my family Kaiba. My mom is the only family I've got left. And I intend to keep her alive and well for as long as possible." I open my eyes and look at him.

"That's… part of the reason why I emancipated myself and took over my father's company. So I could take care of her."

He says nothing and I'm glad since I didn't want to talk about it anymore. But I did decide to keep the conversation going.

"So. What's your story? I mean about you and Mokuba? I know that you two were adopted by Gozaburo but why was he looking to adopt a child?"

Kaiba climbs up a big rock and helps me up.

"He wasn't."

He hops down on the other side and grabs my waist to bring me down.

"He was there on official business. When our parents died, we've been in an orphanage for over three years because no one wanted us. When I saw Gozaburo, I knew that I could get him to adopt me and Mokuba by winning a game that he was good at: Chess."

"And you won." He nods once. "Yes."

"Huh. Even as a small child you knew what you were doing."

"I was the smartest kid in the orphanage. That's probably why no one wanted to adopt us. I was smarter than them."

I chuckle. "Yeah, parents like to teach their kids who don't know how to take care of themselves. Personally, I would've loved to have a kid who knew what he or she was doing. I would still be there for them if they needed me but it would give me less things to worry about."

We both hop down from a big rock and walk on solid ground again. The memory of Kaiba comes back to me again. Why do I keep on thinking about this?! Then I begin to wonder. If he's so attractive to the ladies. Then why doesn't he have a girlfriend? He should but he just may not be interested in them. He could have any girl he wants.

"I don't know why I just thought of it and don't even tease me about it. But if you're so attractive, which I think you're not, then wouldn't you have a girlfriend or something?"

"Are you going to be jealous if I do?" he teases.

"Just answer the question Kaiba." I groan.

"Alright, if it'll please you." he smirks.

I roll my eyes. "No I don't have a girlfriend. None of the girls that I meet are interesting. All they ever do is flock themselves around me. They're vultures."

"Not all girls are like that you know." He scoffs. "They will be if they see me. I deeply sigh. "Sometimes Kaiba, I worry about you."

"How touching." I cross my arms. "You know you better start having some respect for women Kaiba. I mean what if you meet a nice girl that wants a good life and a family?"

"Doesn't everybody?" I sigh. Jeez! He just doesn't take this seriously, does he?!

"Just bear with me here Kaiba. If you somehow got infatuated with someone and you wanted to be with her, what would you do?"

"Why are you asking me this?" I roll my eyes. "Would you just answer the question?!"

He rolls his eyes and sighs as he's thinking. He then inhales a deep breath and exhales slowly.

"If I was in love. I would do everything in my power to make her mine. I would make sure that no ther man will even think to touch her. I would want her to be beside me every morning when I wake up. She would be my most precious jewel. She would be my life."

I stare at him, speechless. Wow. I did not expect that from him. "You would really do that?"

He shrugs. "If it ever happened, every goddamn day of my life." I smile at him.

"But if she gets too clingy and desperate then I will divorce her and never marry again."

I look away and sigh in defeat. And the moment is ruined again. He smirks at my irritation and I sigh, shaking my head. It's gonna be a long day.

~(XXX)~

"So how old is Mokuba going to be tomorrow?" I ask pushing a bushy tree branch away. "13." he replies.

"Oh! A teen huh? Well you're gonna enjoy his maturity." He rolls his eyes and continues to walk through bushes and branches.

"You gonna throw him a party or something?"

"Unless he asks for it, definitely not." I tilt my head. "Why not?! Parties are fun!"

"They're nothing but a waste of time and they cause too much chaos. It's pathetic." I sigh. "No one said you have to like it. You gotta be tough. Like me."

A branch suddenly escapes my hand and smacks me in the face, making a welt on my right cheek.

"Ahh! Shit!! God damn it!!" I curse as I hold my face.

"That's tough?" Kaiba asks amused.

I check my hand to see if I'm bleeding. Nothing, just a red and swollen line on my cheek. I wince as I touch it and growl and growl softly.

"Great. Now I got a welt on my face. Wonderful!!!" I throw my hands up.

"Let me see." he says reaching for my face.

I back up from him and cover my face instantly.

"Hell no! You're gonna touch it!" I protest.

"I'm not going to touch it. I just need to see if it's serious."

"If it were serious then I would've been screaming in pain."

He walks up to me anyway and gently pinched my chin to turn my head. He observes the welt carefully and close. A little too close for my comfort. But I'll just ignore him unless he decides to try anything. You know, I just noticed something. Out of all the times he's touched me, I finally notice how soft and smooth his skin is. It actually feels nice. And somewhat familiar.

"How does it look Doc?" I tease and he scoffs. "You'll live."

He pats my cheek and I wince. "Ow! Hey! You said you wouldn't touch it!!!" I call after him as he walks away from me.

I catch up to him and walk beside him. I don't do anything at the moment because I wanted to catch him off guard. After a few minutes of silence, I finally have an opportunity to get him back. A big pond is up ahead and a devious idea pops into my head. Time to get my revenge.

When we reach it, I pretend to yawn and stretch. When my arms lower down, I suddenly push him in the pond. I start to laugh when he hits the water. I laugh so hard, I lean up against a tree to help me keep my balance. That was epic and pure genius of me. I'm laughing so hard, my eyes squeeze shut. All of a sudden, I'm being thrown over Kaiba's shoulder. I scream but still laugh as he carries me towards the pond.

"No Kaiba don't!! I'm sorry!!" I laugh, pounding his back.

He gets ready to throw me in and I grab ahold of his coat. When he tosses me in there, I take him in with me. I reach up the surface and gasp for air. I run my hands up my face, pushing my hair back on my head. I look around for Kaiba, who's not around.

"Kaiba?" No answer. "Kaiba?" I call again. Now I start to get worried. Where is he? Is he okay?

I turn in circles. "Kaiba?!" I call.

Oh god!! Where is he?!? I dive back down and look around frantically. I eventually spotted him floating down towards the bottom. I use my strength to swim down towards him. I grab his wrist and pull him up to me. I wrap my arms around his waist and swim back up to the surface. I gasp and cough for air when I swam back up. I swim to the shore and drag Kaiba out of the water.

"Kaiba!!" I grab his face. "Oh god Kaiba, what have I done?!?"

I put my head on his chest and hear his strong heartbeat. He's alive but he's still unconscious!! I'll have to perform CPR on him.

"Don't worry Kaiba! You're gonna be fine!!"

I remove his trench coat and his black shirt, immediately blushing at his toned chest. Oh my god, Karen focus damn it!! I place my hands on the center of his chest and start pushing down. One, two, three, four…

I place my ear on his chest and still hear his heartbeat. He's still unconscious! Maybe there's water in his lungs. Despite the fact that I have to put my mouth on his, I plug his nose and lock my mouth on his to blow air into him.

"You so owe me for this you bastard." I growl.

I place my mouth over his again and am about to blow again. But then a hand clamps down on the back of my head and presses me down on him.

"Hmm??!!" I muffle with shock and surprise.

I glance up and see Kaiba's eyes open and staring down at me. My eyes widen when I see the amusement on his face. Then that's when I realized, he was faking this whole time!!! I freeze when I realized another thing. HE'S KISSING ME!!!!

 ** _Ohh boy!!! FIRST KISS!!! See you next chapter!!_**


	8. Broken and Fired

**_Sorry! It's been a while since I updated this story! I've been too caught up with my other stories and not to mention school. Ugh! Being a junior is rough! Too much homework!! Anyways here's Ch. 8! Enjoy!_**

Broken and Fired

When I realized what was happening, I let out a muffled scream and yank myself away from the man. My whole face is cherry red and mortification is written on my face as he sits up. I point my shaking finger at him and stutter.

"Y-Ya-You-wha-how-why...?" I cover my tingling mouth. "Why?!?" I finally manage to get out.

He scoffs and runs his hand through his damp hair, which makes me burn red even more.

"That's what you get for messing around with me. You humiliate me, I'll destroy you with whatever makes you crumble to the ground. Sort of like what you're doing right now." he nods to my scrunched up body on the ground.

I stare at him with wide eyes until they narrow at him. My face is only red with anger and resentment now.

"You…." I clench my shaking fists. "You lying, sneaky, nasty, SON OF A BITCH!!!" I roar.

I lunge forward and pounce on top of him. I'm straddling his waist and pinning him down by his shoulders.

"YOU STOLE MY FIRST KISS!!!!" I'm so pissed off, I start to slap his chest and face. "I was saving that for the man of my dreams!!!!"

Kaiba catches both of my wrists and quickly reverses our position. Now he's straddling my waist and pinning me down by my wrists on each side of my head.

"Is that so?" he smirks. "I had no idea that you were never kissed by a man before."

My whole body heats up and I tremble when he has that look in his eyes again.

"If it means so much to you Rose, then I'll be willing to return the kiss to you so you can give it to some low life loser that isn't as superior as I am."

Stop looking at me like that!!! What is he doing?!?

"In other words, you should be honored that you shared your first kiss with me Rose. It's very rare when a woman captures my attention like this."

"You are such a conceited bastard Kaiba!!" I yell. "Why would I ever want to share my first kiss with you?!? To me, you're not even considered as a man!!! You're just this sick creep that goes around thinking that you're better than everyone and you treat people like dirt!!! A real man would never treat women like this!!! Especially when he-hmph!!!"

His lips are forced onto mine once again but only for a short moment since he abruptly pulls away.

"There. I gave you your kiss back. Now shut up and stop yelling."

I open my mouth to say something but it worked on its own.

"Uh! Well… I don't want it back anymore, so you can keep it!!"

I reverse our position and smash my lips against the shocked duelist's lips, giving him a hard and demanding kiss. I immediately pull away when I realize what I had just said and did.

"Oh dear God."

I exclaim when he again, switches with me. His face is close to mine and a dangerous smirk forms on his lips.

"You just lost the challenge Rose."

"What?!" Fear hit my heart.

"You just kissed me out of your own free will. No one is here and you did it anyway."

"But you… YOU KISSED ME FIRST!!!" I yell in mortification.

"I only kissed you so I could teach you a lesson. It was not my intention to kiss you for my desires. You on the other hand, did the complete opposite. You returned your first kiss to me and you wanted me to keep it. And because of those reasons, I do believe that I am winner."

Damn him!!! DAMN HIM!!!! I do not have a good feeling about this!!! The way he's looking at me right now!!! It's like he's ready to pounce at any second. I have to escape him somehow.

"Okay!! So you win!! Congratulations, I'm not really surprised since you always win everything!! Now get off me so we can get back to searching for the city."

I try sitting up but he pushes me back down.

"You told me that if I won, I could have anything I wanted from you right?"

Oh dear God. "No!" I instantly say and shake my head. "I didn't say that at all!"

"You liar. Your whole face is burning red and I can see the fear in your eyes."

"Maybe that's because it's the way you're handling me right now!!!" I nod to our position and struggle more. "I didn't agree to this at all!!!"

"So you admit that what you said was true?"

"What?! No!! No!! Don't be putting words in my mouth!!!"

He grins. "I know that you're lying to me Rose. And I don't intend on letting you go until you admit the truth to me."

"Even if I do admit it, that'll just give you a reason to torture me!!!" I yell. "Either way I can't win against you!!!"

"So you better choose one that's suitable for you." He leans down and whispers in my ear."Otherwise I'll just have to choose for you."

I tense up when I feel his hand slide up my bare hip. His other hand is holding both of my wrists above my head so I won't slap him or anything. I bite my bottom lip and groan when his hand goes higher.

I almost shriek when his lips brush up against my throat and places a kiss underneath my chin. His hand on my hip starts to slide down now and I start to shake. What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO?!?!

If I tell him the truth he'll figure out what kind of sick thing he wants from me as an award and if I don't, he'll continue to fondle me like this until he's satisfied!!! There's no way for me to escape!!!!

I squirm when his hand is on my lower thigh now and his teeth nipping my ear.

"What's it going to be Rose? The truth? Or do you still want me to continue on with this? It's your call."

I give him my answer when I groan and turn my head away so I won't see his face.

He chuckles softly. "You stupid girl. Alright I believe I know how to get the truth out from you."

I suddenly felt his mouth latch onto my neck and my eyes snap open when I feel him sucking on it.

"Wh-What-WHAT ARE DOING KAIBA?!?!?" I scream mortified.

"I'm marking you. So people will know what's mine."

He continues and I try so hard not to scream. But that failed since I did not want people to see what Kaiba did to me and get the wrong idea. Plus this is not what I want from him!!!!

"ALRIGHT!!! ALRIGHT!!! I WAS LYING!!! I DID SAY THAT!!! NOW FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP MARKING ME!!!!" I pant from the outburst and he pulls away, smirking smugly.

He looks down at my neck. "You spoke a little too late."

My eyes widen and this time he allowed me to scramble away from him. I run to the pond and look down at my reflection. And right there between my neck and shoulder, is fresh red hickey.

I scream and desperately use the water to scrub it off.

"No, get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off!!! Ahh!!!"

I cover my face with my hands and moan in despair.

"Ahhhh!! I've been infected!! I don't deserve to LIVE!!!" I whip my head to Kaiba and point to him. "You. You stay away from me! Don't you ever lay a hand on me again!!!"

With that I run away through some bushes until I'm at a safe distance from him. When I stop, I start to wipe my hands on my neck again, desperately trying to get rid of the freaking mark Kaiba gave me. Why?! Why?!?! WHY?!?! Why did I let him continue?!?!? If I would've just told him the truth, this wouldn't of happened!!!

That's not the only thing that scares me. When he was kissing and touching me like that, I actually liked it, deep down inside. I bury my face in my hands and moan. I take a seat on a big rock and sit there doing nothing. Not even thinking.

I bring my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them. After 10 minutes or so, Kaiba emerges from some bushes. His shirt and trench coat is back on him so I won't have to worry about him doing that again. We stare at each other for a minute and I finally look away, blushing.

"We better keep on moving if we want to make it to the city by midnight." he says and I look at him. "So let's just forget about what happened and go."

Without another word, I walk away with Kaiba close behind me. Neither of us talked to each other for hours. Good thing too because I did not feel like talking to him at all. All I could think about was that stupid kiss.

I don't know why I kept on thinking about it, I just did. I wonder how Kaiba feels about it. Does he feel guilty for kissing me or does he even care? Why do I even care about what he thinks? Ugh! This is so stupid! I wish I was back home to my normal life.

The sun goes down and the sky darkens. Some stars start to come out and so does the rising moon. I start to wonder if we're close to the city because we've been walking for forever. I spot a very tall tree. Maybe I could climb to the top and see if I can see the city. I stop at it and raise my hand on Kaiba's chest to stop him.

"Wait here." I say. "What are you doing?" he asks.

I walk up to the tree and look up. "I wanna see if I can spot the city from here."

I jump up and grab ahold of a tree branch and swing myself up on another one. I climb up the tree like a quick little monkey all the way to the top. When I reach to the top, I push some bushy branches out of my way and look around. No lights or anything on this side. I climb to the other side of the tree and look. My eyes widen and my heart beats faster. There it is! I see the big skyscrapers and the bright lights. I exhale a happy chuckle and look down.

"I see it Kaiba!! I found the city!!"

"What?!" he calls.

"I said that I found the-wha- Whoa!!" I exclaim as I start to lose my balance on the branches.

I try to regain my balance but it's too late. I fall backwards and hit some thick branches on the way down. I hit the ground really hard, almost causing me to lose consciousness.

"Rose!" Kaiba calls.

I hear him kneel down beside me and he grabs my face.

"Rose! Look at me! Are you okay?!"

I groan and yell in pain as I move my throbbing left arm. It's burning with excruciating pain.

"My arm!! I think it's broken!!" I yell. "Jesus Christ Rose. You're bleeding!"

I wince as he touches my wounded head. "Damn it, we need to get you to a hospital." he says.

"I saw…the city….not far from here. Just keep on going….East." I groan holding my broken arm.

He picks me up bridal style and gently runs East. After a short while, I lose consciousness but start to hear Kaiba's voice after a short while.

"I need a doctor here and fast!!!" Kaiba hollers.

A feel hands grabbing me and they take me out of Kaiba's arms and place me onto a rolling bed.

"Thank you for bringing her here Mr. Kaiba. We'll take it from here now." I hear a female doctor says to him.

The nurses roll me away and I finally black out completely and fall into a deep sleep.

~(XXX)~

I flutter my eyes open to the gentle sound of machines beeping, voices, and phones ringing. White is all I see for surroundings right now and I do know that I'm in a hospital. I groan and open my eyes fully.

My blurry vision comes into focus and I now can see that female doctor that took me in. She has long dark brown hair, white skin, and has a slender body. Dr. Milan is what her name tag says. She turns around to look at me. She gives me a pleasant smile.

"Good morning Miss Rose. I trust that you slept well?" she asks.

I groan again and sit up. "I guess. I feel like I've been sleeping for days. How long was I out? Jesus." I rub my forehead.

My fingers touch a small square bandage on my head. I forgot that I hit my head on a tree branch. I look at my broken left arm which is in a cast.

"You've been unconscious for at least two days." I whip my head to look at her with a shocked expression.

"What?! Two days?! How is that possible?!" She checks her clipboard.

"Well due to the injuries that you have, we gave you an anaesthetic shot, causing you to sleep longer. You needed the rest."

I look down and regain my memories. I was lost in a forest. But with someone. Kaiba. My eyes widen and I look up at her.

"Seto Kaiba was the one who brought me here right?" I ask and she nods.

"Yes. He requested that you get medical help immediately."

"How is he? Was he injured in any way?" She shakes her head. "No. I tried to take a look at him but he wouldn't let us."

I smile a little. Typical Kaiba. "Of course he wouldn't. Um. Is he here?"

"No. As soon as we took you in, he left. But he did tell us to call him as soon as you woke up."

"Oh." Why the hell do I suddenly feel disappointed about him not being here?!?

"Alright, I'm going to be calling Mr. Kaiba now. So in the meantime, you can relax. You'll have to stay here for the next couple of days."

Great. I'm stuck here for possibly two more days.

I nod "Alright. Oh and Doctor, when you call Kaiba, can you tell him that I said thank you? If it weren't for him… I'd probably be dead or something."

She smiles and nods once. "Yes, I will include that."

She walks out of the room leaving me alone. I look around the quiet white room, wondering what I should do now. I guess I should just think. Oh shit, what am I going to tell mom when I get the chance to call her? I don't want to give her a heart attack if I tell her the truth. She'll try to sue KaibaCorps and no one wants that. I'll just tell her that I went on a business trip with Kaiba and we had no phone service due to a storm.

What else? Oh my god. I missed Mokuba's birthday! It was two days ago and I was here unconscious. Poor Mokuba. He must've been devastated when he heard that I was in the hospital. I wonder if him and Kaiba will try to visit me. What about Yugi and the others? Do they know that I'm here?

"Miss Rose?" a female nurse asks breaking my thoughts.

I look at her. "Yes?"

"You have some visitors. Shall I send them in?" she asks.

Visitors? Could it be Kaiba and Mokuba? No, that would be impossible, the doctor just called him. It must be the gang.

"Yes nurse. Send them in." She nods once and leaves. "You may go in." her light voice says

All of a sudden, Téa and Serenity come running in the room, followed by the rest.

"Karen!" both yell.

They throw themselves at me and hug me tightly. Especially my broken arm.

"Ah!! Ow!!" I yell.

They pull away instantly and gasp when I show them my broken arm. "Oh my god Karen! We're so sorry!" Serenity apologises.

"It's fine. It's fine." I wince as I gently sit back up. "Karen, what happened to you?! Where did you go?! We were looking all over for you." Tristan exclaims.

"Yeah, we were worried sick!" Téa adds.

I grunt as I move my arm in a comfortable position. I sigh and look at everyone.

"God, do I have a story to tell you guys." I shake my head.

For the past hour or so, I've been telling them where I was and who I was with. I didn't tell them everything like when Kaiba and I told each other about our secrets and pain and what…. Kaiba did to me on that day. It would've been chaotic if I did tell them.

"My God Karen." Téa says. "Yeah! You've been through alot! Especially with Rich Boy." Joey sneers.

"So how long are you gonna stay in the hospital?" Yugi asks.

"For a couple of days. I guess they want me to stay for extra precautions. Hell, I did just wake up."

I move my arm again and wince. "So how did you guys know that I was here?"

"We saw Kaiba and he told us everything." Mai says and I look at her. "He did?"

He didn't tell them about what he did. Did he?

"He told us all he could. When he told us that you were in the hospital, we tried to visit you. But you were still sleeping." Duke says.

Inside I sigh with relief. Thank God!!

"I see. Well I'm awake now so you don't need to worry about me anymore."

"Oh we're still plenty worried about you hun. You got lost in the forest with Kaiba. The man who was hunting you down that night." Mai says crossing her arms and I roll my eyes.

"I know what he was doing guys. Trust me, he really gave it to me when he caught me." I murmur.

"He didn't…do anything else to ya while ya two were alone in d'here. Did he?" Joey asks suspiciously.

I look up at him blushing like crazy. "No!" I blurt out and look away. "No, he didn't do anything! He was pissed but he didn't touch me!"

I rub my neck, hiding the hickey. "Okay. So we don't have to worry about that." Yugi glares at his friend for asking that ridiculous but true question.

"We're just so glad and relieved to see that you're okay Karen." Serenity says, making meI nod and smile.

"Me too guys. Uh while I was out, did I miss anything important at school? Like a test or a project or anything really?"

Hours pass by and the gang and I were reuniting with each other and catching up with what's been happening the past few days. I didn't miss anything important other than Mokuba's birthday and mom's calls. So I'm good there. Right now we're talking about something that I couldn't remember. I start to look around the room again for some reason and my eyes land on Yugi.

Around his neck is an upside down Egyptian pyramid necklace. I study it for a minute and notice a golden eye on there. Strange. Why do I feel like I've seen that symbol before? I stare at it hard for a couple of seconds and a sudden flash hits my eyes.

A man. I see a man that looks exactly like Yugi. Blonde tri-colored spiky hair, amethyst eyes, and same height. Only he's not Yugi. No this man is much older and has bronze colored skin. He's wearing Egyptian clothes with a billowing gray cape. On his head, he wears a golden eye crown, the same symbol that's on that upside down pyramid necklace. What's also unusual, is that the man is wearing it too.

I come back into the room where everyone is still talking. I exhale a light shaky breath. What was that all about? Who was that man that I just saw?

"Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt you guys but I do believe that Miss Rose needs to go to bed for tonight." Doctor Milan says.

I shake my head, clearing my thoughts of what just happened. Everyone starts to get up and say their goodbyes.

"Bye Karen. I hope you feel better soon." Serenity hugs me gently this time "Thanks Serenity."

"Later Karen." Joey and Tristan calls. "Bye honey! Get well soon!" Mai calls as everyone starts to leave the room.

"Bye everyone! Thanks for coming!" I call waving.

When they leave Doctor Milan walks in. "Good reunion?" she asks and I nod.

"Yeah. Yeah it was fine. So uh….did you give Kaiba my message?" I ask..

"Yes I did." She nods. "He told me that he would come by tomorrow to discuss about some things with you.

I look at her and smile but sigh.

"Do I really have to go to sleep? I just woke up today and I've been asleep for at least two days."

"Doctor's orders." she says and I sigh but chuckle. "All right."

I gently lay myself down on the bed and take a deep breath. "Good night Miss. Rose. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Good night Doctor Milan."

She turns off the light and closes the door, leaving me alone in the dark. As I lay there motionless, I start to think about that mystery man I saw. Who is he? And why do I feel like that I know him? I shake my head a little. Maybe I'm just being paranoid again. Hell I've been through a lot. I'll just go to sleep and probably forget about it.

~(XXX)~

I wake up and stretch out my arms and legs. But wince at the sharp pain in my left arm. I look at it and see it in its cast. Oh yeah. I forgot that it's broken. I sigh and gently sit up. I rub my right eye with the palm of my right hand and start to wake up fully. I turn my head to the left and see than none other, Seto Kaiba.

He's sitting in the chair with his legs and arms crossed. It's like he's been waiting for me to wake up. I stare at him as he stands up from his chair. How long has he been waiting for me to wake up?

Feeling awkward about the dead silence between us, I rub my neck and look away from his gaze.

"Hello Kaiba."

"We need to talk."

Gets right down to the subject. Why am I surprised again? I wonder what he's here to talk to me about.

"Uhh. Sure. Sure, let's talk. What brings you here?"

"I can't allow you to work for me anymore."

That cause my eyes to widen and my mouth to hang down. Did he just… fire me?!?

"What?!? Kaiba what are you saying?!? Are you firing me from being your technician?!? You can't do that!!" I yell.

"Yes I can Rose. I'm in charge of this whole facility and if I say that you can't work for me, then you can't! That is final."

"Do you seriously think that I'm that useless?! It's just one broken arm Kaiba!" I gesture to my bandaged arm.

"And a severe head wound. You could faint any minute if you work."

"Why are you so stubborn about this?!" I yell.

"Because I'm not risking you getting hurt. The last thing I need is to be accused of making an injured woman work herself to death."

I roll my eyes and gesture to him.

"Oh yeah, of course. It's you. It's always about you isn't it Kaiba?! You know back in the woods, I liked you a lot better than the way you are now! You were more honest and caring! But when you're in public, you're just a…. a pigheaded asshole!!"

I wince when I move my arm and growl as I look away.

"You can't fire me Kaiba! You need me, no one else can repair your duel disk!"

"That's where you're wrong Rose. I already found another technician to take your place."

My eyes widen and I look at him. He already found another technician to take my place?! I can't believe this!! I just got fired and I didn't even get the chance to finish repairing the damn contraption!!

"That's all I came here to say. Goodbye Rose."

He turns to walk away and I panic inside. What do I do?!? I can't just let this go!! I didn't fly 6,738 miles for nothing!!!! I hop out of bed and and grab his arm with my good one.

"Kaiba wait!!" I exclaim before feeling dizzy for standing up so suddenly.

My legs give out but Kaiba is quick enough to catch me.

"God damn it Rose! Stop being reckless for once and do what you're told!!"

"You know fully well that I'm capable of repairing your disk Kaiba." I say softly. "I may not be in the best condition now, but if you give me a couple of weeks-"

"I don't have a couple of weeks Rose! I need those disks to be repaired as soon as possible and you are not well enough to work."

I close my eyes and slightly grins. "Not even to be your assistant still?"

He stays silent and I look up at him. "I still have yet to fill my end of the deal. I need to be your assistant until the tournaments arrive right? Just like you, I too hold true to my words and I don't intend on breaking that promise."

I give him a look that's telling him that I'm not going anywhere and we stare at each other until he scoops me up in his arms and sets me back down on the bed.

"You are an infuriating woman Rose. But that suits you. Very well, when you leave the hospital, I will allow you be my assistant still. But don't expect me to go easy on you when you come back."

My heart races when he sets his hands on the bed and leans down towards my ear. I'm frozen solid when he moves my hair aside to observe the mark he made on my neck.

"Because I plan on working you to your limit. And maybe then you'll be smart enough to leave this continent."

My flinch when I feel his lips on my ear and his hand on my bare leg. He speaks in a low and husky voice that also sounds very intimidating and threatening.

"Remember Rose, I'm someone that's not to be trifled with. So be aware, the next time you cross me again, I'll not only be your worst enemy, but I'll become your worst nightmare as well."

I gasp when his hand slides up my leg, sending goosebumps up both my arms and legs.

"Is that understood?" He asks and I merely nod.

"Y...Yes sir. I'll… keep that in mind." I managed to get out.

'Yes sir?!?' What the hell am I saying?!? What is this guy doing to me?!? And why can't I slap him?!?!?

I feel him grin with satisfaction and victory as he pulls away, breaking me from his enchanting spell.

"Good. Now get some rest. You're going to need it."

With that he walks out of the room and when he closes the door, I collapse onto my pillow with shock written on my face. What. The hell. Was that?! I slapy red face and wince fiercely when I move my broken arm too much.

 _"Damn it! Why me?!?"_

 ** _God, poor Karen! She can never get a break;) See you on the next chapter!!_**


	9. The Gift

**_I'm still alive for this story!!! Here's Ch. 9! Enjoy!_**

The Gift

"What?! Wait Dr. Milan, I-I don't understand. What do you mean I'm already healing? I've been here for at least two days and my arm should still be a wreck."

Ever since I woke up the hospital two days ago, my broken arm hurt like hell whenever I moved it. But then the next two days came and my arm unexpectedly starts to heal quickly. It still hurts a bit but not as much as it used to. Right now I don't even need the cast because I can move it around a little.

The doctors couldn't believe it either, I know for a fact that they never had a patient recover from a broken arm within two days, hell who has? They've done many tests on me to see how this is possible but they couldn't find anything which made things worse for me. How the hell is this possible?

"Look Ms. Rose, I myself am confused about this. Your arm is healing like it's already been healing for four weeks. It's…. remarkable and unique for a patient to heal that quickly." she says gesturing to me.

I look away and try to think this through.

"Even your head wound is completely healed." she gestures to my head.

I touch my head and notice that it doesn't hurt and that there's no scab or anything. I am this close from freaking out but as always, I hold it in and take a deep breath.

"Okay." I drum my fingers on my legs. "I think… I need to go back to my hotel and think this through. Today I get out right?" I look at her as she checks her clipboard for my release date.

"Yes, that's correct." she nods.

I jerk off my covers and hop off the bed before walking over to a table with my regular clothes that Tèa brought yesterday.

"Then I should be going now." I say grabbing the clothes.

All of a sudden, my head is all woozy and my vision is twinkling a bit. Oh crap, I stood up too fast. I drop my clothes and lean on the table as Dr. Milan is instantly at my side.

"Okay! I think you might need to slow down there a bit Ms. Rose." Dr. Milan says taking me by the shoulders and back to my bed. "I don't want you to pass out on me."

She walks to a counter and grabs an orange bottle full of pills. Stimulant pills. She walks back to me and hands me the bottle

"Here. These will help you focus better when you're feeling woozy. Take two."

She opens it and tilts the bottle down, letting two pills fall in her hand. She hands me a glass of water along with the pills. I stare at them and sigh before taking the pills and tossing them in my mouth. I take the glass of water and drink them down. I set the glass of water down as I wait for a few minutes.

"Ms. Rose, are you sure that you're well enough? Because if you're not then we would be glad to-"

"Doctor." I interrupt and look at her with an assuring and appreciative smile. "I'll be fine. I got these pills and I'm shockingly healing as quickly as possible so I think I'll survive. Thank you for your concern though."

She understands by nodding. "Alright. But if you get any worse..."

I nod and smile. "I'll come here."

I stand back up, slowly this time and pick up my clothes. Before I walk out of the room, I turn myself around and look at Dr. Milan. You know, if you take the N out of Milan. You get Mila. My sister's name. I smile at her.

"Thank you Dr. Milan for everything you've done for me. You're a good doctor."

She nods once and walks up to me. She places her hand on my right shoulder. "And you were a good patient. Stay safe out there Ms. Rose."

After that, she walks away in the opposite direction of the hall. I smile and walk in the left hall. I find a bathroom nearby and get dressed in my lavender tank top, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes.

Along with that, I gently put on my black zip up sweater, making sure that I don't damage my arm. I set my paper dress on the counter and look up at myself in the mirror.

I stare at myself in the mirror for a long time seeing how I'm a little pale and skinnier than usual. I touch my face and neck and back up to check my whole body out. I look away and take a deep breath. Just calm down Karen! I'm sure everything will be back to normal if you get out and have some fresh air. Just relax.

I walk out of the bathroom to the entrance of the hospital. As soon as I walk out into the sunlight, I'm blinded. I cover my eyes with my arm and try to adjust to the sunlight.

When I do, I walk down the sidewalk all the way back to my hotel. I head up to my room and notice that the disk that I was working on then, is gone. I shake my head. Freaking room raiders.

I sigh and look around before smelling myself. Well, I guess I could use a shower. And that's what I did. I take a nice warm shower and make sure that I'm all clean. After that, I call mom.

"Karen!! Where in the world have you been?!! Do you know how worried sick I was?!! Why didn't you answer my calls?!!" mom yells making me cringe and pull the phone away from my ear.

"I'm so sorry mom. I went on a business trip with Kaiba and I accidentally forgot my phone at the hotel. I tried to call you on other phones but a storm came in and they didn't have good phone service there for a while. I'm really sorry mom. I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

She doesn't say anything for a while. "Goodness Karen! When your father went away on business trips, I never had to worry about him as much as I had to worry about you! You really had me worried sick!"

"And again I'm really sorry mom."

"I know you are sweetheart. I'm just so relieved to hear that you're okay. Don't you ever forget your phone again. You hear me?"

"Yes mom. I promise." I nod.

"Good. Well, you better get some sleep. I love you honey."

"Love you too mom. Bye."

I hang up and sigh. I really do hate lying to mom. But it's best that she didn't know. Only God knows what she'll do if she found out what really happened. I cringe at the image of my mother literally dragging me to the next plane to America and screaming at Kaiba.

I stuff my hands in my pockets and sigh. I fall on my bed and bury my face in a pillow. What am I gonna to do now? I can't work on the disk since Kaiba took it back and I can't do much of anything because of my injured arm.

I groan and turn to lay on my stomach. Then I just remembered something. I never did get Mokuba a birthday present! I can actually use this time to get him a late birthday present! I hop off my bed and grab my wallet before running out of my room.

~(XXX)~

I go to a toy store and look around. So far I'm not finding anything. Most of these toys are for little kids. Mokuba is 13 now and he deserves something better than just a toy. But what? I look up ahead at another store from the window and I smile.

"Perfect." I say.

~(XXX)~

I ring the doorbell at Kaiba's giant mansion and I stand there and wait as I have a medium sized box with a big red ribbon in my hands. The doors open, revealing Mr. Roland.

"Madam Rose!" He says in a surprise tone.

I smile warmly at him and wave. "Good afternoon Mr. Roland. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise Madam Rose." He nods once. "Uh, what brings you here to the Kaiba's residence?"

I hold up the present. "Is Mokuba home? I brought him a present."

"Young master Kaiba is on his way here from school. He should be here any minute. Do come in." he steps aside and gestures inside.

"Oh! But what about Mr. Kaiba? Will he mind?" I ask peering inside cautiously.

"Master Kaiba is working at the moment. I see no reason to not let you in since you are an associate of his."

I smile and walk in. He walks me to a big fancy living room with fancy furniture and what not.

I look around impressed. "Wow."

"As I've said before, young master Kaiba should be here any minute. So in the meantime, while you're waiting, make yourself comfortable until he arrives."

I nod once to him. "No problem. I can do that."

"Would you like anything while you're waiting?" He asks.

I shake my head. "No thank you Mr. Roland. I'm sure you got enough going on."

He nods once. "Very well."

He exits the room, leaving me by my lonesome and I look around the room, curiously. I've never seen or been in a mansion before. It's actually kind of cool. Lot of space for moving around and stuff. Is this what Kaiba feels like? Being famous and all? Nah. I bet he doesn't even bother with what he's feeling. Yet again, I have been wrong with some things about him before.

I take a seat on a pure white sofa and enjoy it's soft cushions and pillows. Very comfortable. I look to my right and spot a picture frame with Mokuba and the notorious Seto Kaiba. I grab it and take a look at it. I stare and smile at it. In this picture, both of the Kaiba brothers are standing beside each other. Mokuba is standing beside Kaiba who has his arm around his shoulders. Not to mention, he's smiling a little. Smiling.

Well at least he can smile. He's very lucky to have Mokuba as his little brother. I wonder how it feels to have a younger sibling by your side. I quickly put the picture frame back when I hear the doors open. Oh Mokuba's here finally here! I stand up as Mokuba's voices increases.

He walks in the room and following him is… Kaiba. He must've gotten here the same time as Mokuba, who is now shocked with surprise and delight.

"Karen!!!"

He runs to me and hugs my waist tightly. I hug him back warmly and chuckle.

"Hi Mokuba."

He pulls away and babbles. "Oh my God Karen, are you okay?! We're you critically injured?! Did you have to go through any surgery?!"

I smile and sit him down on the sofa with me. "Mokuba, Mokuba, please! Calm down. I'm fine. Really."

"But you were in the hospital! If you were in the hospital then that obviously means that you were hurt."

I inhale and nod. "Uh yeah I was. For a little while. Now I'm all better." I gesture to myself. "See? Nothing. No cuts, no bruises. No nothing."

I look up at Kaiba, who is just staring at me intensely. Why the hell is he staring at me like that? I clear my throat and look back at his little brother.

"Uh listen Mokuba. I felt terrible that I missed your birthday and didn't give you a present."

"Karen, you were in the hospital for pete sakes!"

"Still. I felt really bad. And because of that…"

I turn and grab the present behind me. I then hold it out to him. "I got you a late present."

He gawks at it with delight. "Really? Oh man, thanks Karen!" He takes it and sets the present on his lap. He then takes the lid off the box and quickly looks inside.

"Arf!" something barks petitely.

Mokuba gasps and a small brown puppy, pops his head up from the box. He sets his tiny little paws on the edge and wags his cute little tail side to side.

"Arf, arf, arf!" he barks.

"No way!" Mokuba says in shock and disbelief.

He grabs him and picks him up. "You got me a puppy?!" He pets his little head.

"Every growing boy needs a friend." I say petting the puppy as well.

He laughs and sets the furry baby animal down on the floor, letting him explore.

"Instead of getting you something silly like a toy, I got you something that will keep you safe and happy for as long as possible. Him."

I look at the wandering puppy. "Not only will he make you happy, but he will be your best friend forever."

Mokuba tackles me down into a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much Karen!!!! You're the greatest friend I ever had in my life!!!!"

"Arf!" the puppy looks at Mokuba and he picks him up. "You too little guy! I'm gonna call you Coco!"

He laughs and runs out of the room as I chuckle and stand up.

"Well. I definitely know that I made up a couple of his future birthdays."

I look at Kaiba who has his arms crossed and is glaring at me. I stare at him confused. Why is he looking at me like that still?!

"What? What did I do?"

"You gave. Mokuba. A dog."

I shrug like it's not a big deal. "Yeah so? What's wrong with that?"

"Everything. Now I have to deal with a rodent and its needs."

"Hey, don't call him a rodent." I point to him. "He happens to be an adorable baby puppy and his name is Coco."

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. You're just lucky that Mokuba loves him otherwise I'd have him taken to the pound."

I shake my head and cross my arms. "Cold and cruel as always. Why am I not surprised again?" I roll my eyes as I turn to a window.

I look down and smile as I see Mokuba running around in the yard with his new pet.

"Well at least you're letting him stay for Mokuba's sake." I sigh and turn around to look at him. "Well. Looks like I'm done here."

"Far from it Rose." he says and I raise my eyebrow in confusion.

"What? What do you mean?" I ask.

"You know exactly what I mean."

He storms up to me and grabs my healing arm. "Ow! Hey, watch it!" I snap as I jerk my arm away.

He crosses his arms. "Four days ago, you had a broken arm and a severe head wound."

I stare at him and look away. Ohhhh. That's why he's acting like this. I sigh and place my hand on my face. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to come here.

"Now you're suddenly 'alright'?!" I don't say anything because this obviously is going to be very hard to explain to him. "You're pathetic for faking these injuries."

I look at him in shock. "Faking?" I ask appalled and turn to him and put my fists on my hips. "Faking?" I repeat and gawk at him in anger.

"You think that I faked falling from that tree?! You think that I faked breaking my arm?! You were there Kaiba!! You saw me fall and get hurt!"

"Then how do you explain this?!" he grabs my wrist but I yank it back.

"Stop grabbing my wrist!" I yell.

"Admit it Rose! You were never injured! You only faked it so you can make me look like a fool!"

My hand makes contacts with Kaiba's cheek as I swung my hand at his face. If I wasn't pissed off as much as he was, I think I'd be running out of the mansion in a split second. I stare at the rich and infuriating asshole with a deadly glare that matched his own.

"How dare you?" I ask lowly. "How dare you say that about me you bastard?!" I yell. "You got some nerve to say that to my face when you know that I would never do a thing like that!! And even if I did, I wouldn't have gained anything from it!! You're not worth my time and nor would I ever think of crossing you like that!!!"

I huff out and shake my head at him.

"You know what? I don't need this! I don't need to explain shit to you about my injuries except for the fact that they're healed now. Other than that, I'm telling you nothing!! I'm sick and tired of being treated like this and I'm not going to allow this anymore!"

I point my finger at him.

"You either start treating me with respect or I will, without a doubt, make your life a living hell! And yes that is a threat Seto Kaiba and it doesn't matter how powerful you are. You don't scare me and you never will. Like you told me before, you mess with me, I too can become your worst nightmare and enemy. So you better watch your back when you piss me off like this again. Because I am so done with you."

The blue eyed duelist steps forward and our faces are close to each other. This time I don't back up, I stand my ground to show him how serious I am.

"You're treading on some very thin ice here Rose." He growls lowly with his flaming blue sapphire eyes boring into my flaming green ones. "You don't know who you're talking to nor messing with. Do you really want to take that path?"

My fists clench and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Give it. Your best. Shot Kaiba."

I made my decision and I immediately regret choosing it when Kaiba spins me around and twists my bad arm behind my back. I yell out in excruciating pain until he clamps his hand on my mouth.

"What a stupid girl you are. You just don't know when to back down do you?"

I let out another muffled scream when he twists my arm a little more.

"You honestly thought that by standing up to me like that was actually going to make you superior? How pathetic. Look at yourself, you're all bark and no bite."

Tears are close to escaping my eyes as the pain in my arm gets worse. I can sense him smirking at my pain.

"You're just as weak and helpless as you were back at the forest."

I softly whimper and shiver when I felt his warm lips on my ear.

"But if I'm being quite honest with you Rose, your courage is exactly what draws me to you. And even though you're naive and weak, I still find you interesting."

I use my free arm to elbow him in the gut but he uses his hand that was on my mouth to stop me from achieving that goal.

"Let me go you sick bastard!!!" I yell in rage as I struggle.

"Karen?!" Mokuba calls from afar and if Kaiba hadn't released me in a few seconds, he would've have seen what he was doing to me.

"Hey Karen, I thought I heard you screaming or something. Is everything okay?"

"We're fine Mokuba. Rose and I were just discussing some private matters, weren't we Rose?" Kaiba says looking forward at me.

I huffed softly and rub my aching arm as I glanced coldly at Kaiba.

"Yeah." I look at Mokuba. "Everything's fine Mokuba. In fact I was just about to leave."

At least I can finally escape this hellhole and get away from him.

"Already? Aw. I hoping you would stay a bit longer." He says with disappointment.

I smile softly at him. "I would like to stay a bit longer Mokuba, but you see I have some…" I glance and frown at Kaiba again. "Important work I need to catch up on so maybe next time okay?"

His eyes brighten and he hugs me. "Okay! And thank you so much for giving me Coco as a birthday present! You're the best!"

I smile more and hug him back. "I'm happy that you love him Mokuba." I pull him away and ruffle his hair. "Just make sure you take good care of him."

"I will. See you later Karen!"

"Bye Mokuba." I turn and walk away and past Kaiba, not even making eye contact with him. But deep down I knew that he was telling me that he wasn't finished with me. That this was only the beginning of my life going down to hell.

 ** _There you go! See you all in a few weeks or so! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter:)_**


	10. Authors Note

**_Authors note_**

Hey everybody! Alright I got somewhat good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad, I won't be working on this story because my motivation for it has dropped and I'm never in the mood to write chapters for it. Plus I'm working on some other stories and I don't want to keep all of my wonderful readers and followers waiting for a new chapter.

It's unfortunate because before I got a Fanfiction account, this was my first story I worked on for at least a year and half and now I'm suddenly realizing that it needs to be fixed! You know be rewritten into a better story and complete different plot and all/

Which is the good news! After I have finished all of my other stories, I will definitely pick up where I left off and finish the darn thing. Cause I didn't isolate myself in my room and from my family for nothing!;) Oh God that just sounded horrible when I said that.

Anyways, I guess what I'm saying is that this story is on hiatus. It will take me a long time to get back on this story since I literally have a whole bunch of stuff going on in my life.

Thank you all to the readers out there who favorited and followed, "Where the Heart Belongs" I'm really sorry for doing this but I can't keep you all waiting for me to post a chapter when I'm not going to for a long period of time. But remember! I'm going to fix it up and pick up where I left off! I'm true to my words and I keep my promises!

Again thank you all and one other thing. I'd like a moment of silence for I have lost my wonderful family pet cat, Basa. He's been in my family for 13 years and I've known him since I was a little kid. He got severely ill by getting cancer in his mouth where he couldn't really eat anything and had to suffer from the pain. My dad decided to put him down and we were there when he was put to sleep. Horrible day for me to see part of my family being taken away by death. He was my best friend and now he's gone.

Oh jeez listen to me! I'm getting all emotional again!! Alright I'll let ya'll go now before I start bawling my eyes out. You all have a great day and for the love of God! Cherish you pets. Bye now


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